MARION 
HARLAND 


WITH   THE   BEST   INTENTIONS 


r,,  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 


With  the  Best  Intentions 


H  flDibsummer 


BY 

MARION    HARLANP 


George  M.  Hill  Company 

Printers  and  Binders 

Chicago,  111. 


COPYRIGHT,    1890, 
BY   CHARLES   SCKIliM.K'S   SONS. 


WITH  THE  BEST  INTENTIONS: 

A    MIDSUMMER   EPISODE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

BKTDAL  tours  are  so  often  failures  —  con 
cealed  or  confessed  —  that  Mrs.  Emmett 
Morgan's  testimony  to  the  contrary  in  her 
case  deserves  honorable!  record. 

u  Three  weeks  of  unalloyed  happiness  f 
And  three  more  in  prospect!  I  did  not 
think  mortals  could  be  so  entirely  blissful !  " 

It  was  much  for  her  to  say.  She  was  sel 
dom  demonstrative,  and  never  effusive.  At 
the  voluntary  admission  her  husband  drew  a 
step  nearer  and  passed  his  arm  about  her. 

Quietly  and  promptly  she  put  it  aside,  her 
glance  warning  him  that  they  were  within 
possible  view  of  others. 

"\Vemmick  and  Miss  Skiflms ! "  com 
mented  the  bridegroom,  good  humoredly. 

1 


2130563 


2          \vrrn  Tin-:  />'/•;>•/•  /.v 7V-; .v 77o. v.s: 

"  I  be;.;-  pardon  ?  " 

••Don't  you  recollect  how  his  ann  would 
steal  around  IHT  waist,  and  lm\v  she  as  regu 
larly  undid  it  and  laid  it  back  on  his  lap?" 

••  I  never    heard    of    them.       Was    it    in    ;i 

bonk  '.'  " 

"In  •  ( ireat  Kxpectations  ' !  Dickens  a^ain  '• 
You  will  think,  after  awhile,  that  I  have  read 
IK  ithili'4'  else. 

"Oh,  no!  liut.  as  I  have  told  yon  before,  I 

cannot  enjoy  either  of  your  pet  authors.  Are 
you  vexed '/  '' 

He  met  her  arch  smile  with  one  that 
answered  her  sufficiently. 

"Vexed,  my  love!  because  you  are  a 
woman  of  independent  thought  instead  of  a 
slavish  echo  ol  myself?  Variet\'  of  taste  and 
sentiment  L^ives  spire  to  talk  and  life.  We 
shall  hardly  quarrel  over  novels,  —  even  mv 
favi  n'ites." 

Kmmett  was  a  sensible  lellow,  who  had 
nut  failed  to  diseover,  in  a  two  years'  be 
trothal,  that  his  chosen  wile  was  intelligent 
rather  than  intellectual.  She  was  a  native 
of  the  flourishing  town  of  Lisbon,  New  Jer 
sey,  and  twentv-oiie  vears  old  when  he  met 
her  abroad,  travelling  with  her  parents  and 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  3 

sister.  A  coalition  of  parties  threw  the 
young  people  into  intimate  companionship 
for  four  months.  The  equable  temperament, 
sound  good  sense,  and  filial  devotion  of  the 
girl,  who  was  never  tired,  cross,  or  exact 
ing,  commended  her  first  to  his  admiration, 
then  to  his  affection.  They  returned  home 
plighted  lovers. 

They  had  been  married  three  weeks  to  a 
day  on  the  afternoon  when  they  stood  to 
gether  upon  a  balcony  overlooking  the  noble 
veranda  of  the  Grand  Hotel  on  Mackinac 
Island,  —  the  finest  inland  water-view  upon 
the  continent  spread  out  beneath  them. 
Ik'low  the  hotel  terrace  a  grove  of  arbor-vita^ 
and  balsam-firs  divided  drive  and  tennis- 
courts  from  the  Strait.  Beyond  this  —  the 
watery  highway  from  Huron  on  the  left  to 
Lake  Michigan  on  the  ri<rht- — -a  dark-blue, 

o  o 

undulating  line  marked  other  islands  and  the 
mainland.  For  the  rest,  the  land-locked  seas 
had  all  the  lower  world  to  themselves.  From 
eastern  to  western  horizon  they  rolled  —  an 
expanse  of  varying  glory,  but  always  sublime  ; 
dav  unto  day  uttering  and  hinting  prodigal- 

^  i-  O  O      i.  O 

ity  and  reserves  of  beauty  inconceivable  by 
those  who  have  never  looked  upon  the 


WITH    TUP:    7>'7->T   7  .\TA\Y  770. VS.- 

divine  panorama  indescribable  by  the  tongue 
or  pen  of  those  whose  eves  have  feasted  upon 
tin1  sight.  From  height  above  height,  robed 
in  tii1  and  cedar,  poured  down  the  elixir  of 
life,  lilling  lungs  to  their  depths  and  hurry 
ing  the  reddening  pulses  until  the  recreated 
wanderers  from  the  lowlands  walked  as  upon 
air,  and  in  spirit  heard  the  recall  to  youth, 
strength,  and  hopeful  endeavor. 

Knimett  Morgan  squared  his  broad  shoul 
ders  as  he  drew  in  the  fragrant  breeze. 

"  It  is  like  iced  TI >kay  ! '' 

k>  I  beg  your  pardon?"  said  his  wife,  again. 

The  startled  look  often  came  to  her  face 
in  their  talks.  Hers  was  a  clear  mind,  but 
shrewd  and  logical,  rather  than  quick. 

k>  Excuse  me  !  I  am  slightly  intoxicated. 
I  believe.  Did  you  ever  breathe  and  taste 
such  air  ?  " 

••  It  is  very  pure  and  bracing.  It  reminds 
me  of  the  Kngadine." 

"Hut  without  the  chill  of  everlasting 
snows.  The  atmosphere  of  the  Kngadine 
;ii id  Chamounix  lias  been  cooled  in  a  refriger 
ator.  This  is  made  new  everv  dav.  I  have 
kept  Mackinae  for  the  beautiful  climax  of 
our  honeymoon,  sweet ! 


A   MIDSUMMER  EPISODE.  5 

"  Thank  you  !  How  good  you  are  to  me 
always  ! " 

She  did  not  shake  off  the  hand  laid  lightly 
upon  the  two  crossed  upon  the  balcony  rail 
ing,  or  shrink  now  from  the  encircling  arm. 
A  sensitive  flame  wavered  over  her  face, 
heightening  her  blush  into  bloom.  She  was 
not  a  pretty  woman  at  her  best,  but  always 
of  a  goodly  presence.  u  Comety  "  and  "  whole 
some  "  were  words  that  arose  first  in  the 
mind  of  an  impartial  critic.  Six  inches 
shorter  than  her  husband,  she  bore  herself  so 
well  as  to  seem  almost  as  tall.  The  poise  of 
her  head,  the  straight,  full  figure,  the  spring 
and  steadiness  of  her  step,  were  her  chief 
recommendations  to  casual  eyes.  She  called 
her  luxuriant  locks  red,  and  while  leading 
off  in  ridicule  of  them,  was  secretly  mortified 
at  what  she  considered  a  personal  blemish. 
In  reality,  it  was  a  rich  auburn,  that  would 
darken  with  years  into  the  brown  beloved  by 
artists  for  the  sombre  shades  and  ruddy  lights 
rarely  seen  in  human  hair.  Emmett  had 
given  her  an  Irish  setter  last  winter,  because, 
as  he  insisted,  the  burnished  silk  of  his  coat 
exactly  matched  the  waves  and  braids  that 
crowned  her  head.  Her  eyes  were  full  and 


6  H777/  TIII-:  /;/•;>•'/'  I.\TK.\TI<>.\.<  : 

\vell-openod,  honest  and  direct,  with  no  shift 
ing  shadows  to  warn  or  eoiifusi;  tlie  observer, 
but  in  color  they  were  neither  gray,  blue, 
black,  nor  brown.  She  described  them  as 
"  light  green,"  and,  when  kindled  by  sudden 
or  strong  emotion,  they  showed  glints  that 
justified  the  unflattering  epithet. 

In  costume,  her  taste  was  irreproachable, 
and  she  had  none  more  becoming  than  the 
gown  of  cream-white  cashmere  she  now  wore. 

A  burst  of  laughter  from  below,  floating 
above  the  hum  of  voices  and  rhythmic  beat  of 
feet  upon  the  floor  of  the  veranda,  diverted 
Kmmett's  eves  from  the  contentful  contem 
plation  of  the  figure  beside  him,  and  his 
wife's  from  the  low  sweep  of  the  opposite 
shore. 

In  the  wider  area  of  the  curve  described  by 
the  upper  end  of  the  veranda,  peopled  at  this 
hour  with  pleasure-seekers  and  graded  inva 
lids,  was  the  group  from  which  the  blended 
peal  of  merriment  had  arisen.  The  central 
figure  was  the  loveliest  old  lady  imaginable. 
She  leaned  back  in  an  easy-chair  as  if  infirm  ; 
but  the  dark  eyes,  smooth  skin,  and  regular 
features  were  less  the  traces  of  former  beauty 
than  the  assurance  of  charms  she  would  never 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  7 

lose.  Her  hair,  waving  naturally  under  a 
lace  cap,  showed  the  merest  glimmer  of  silver  ; 
her  hands  were  exquisite  in  shape  and  deli 
cacy  of  tint  against  her  black  silk  gown. 
Behind  her  stood  a  handsome  man  of  forty- 
five,  or  thereabouts,  in  the  uniform  of  a 
U.  S.  A.  Captain.  At  her  right,  and  near  her 
feet,  sat  a  young  fellow  in  regulation  tennis- 
suit,  cane-head  at  lip;  behind  him  stood 
another,  somewhat  older,  and  in  graver  garb. 
Close  beside  the  old  lady's  chair  sat  a  brilliant 
brunette,  her  sparkling  face  uplifted  toward 
the  officer.  Standing  directly  above  the  party, 
the  Morgans  could  see  the  gleam  of  her 
perfect  teeth,  the  dancing  light  in  her  eyes 
as  she  talked.  She  held  and  swayed,  in 
accentuating  her  speech,  a  cluster  of  ferns 
and  harebells,  now  and  then  brushing  play 
fully  the  cheek  of  a  girl  who  sat  at  her 
knee,  looking  up  admiringly  into  the  animated 
face. 

"It  is  like  a  stage  tableau,"  pronounced 
Mrs.  Morgan,  in  critical  admiration.  "What 
a  beautiful  old  lady!  She  looks  like  a  bit 
of  Dresden  china.  1  suppose  her  daugh 
ters  do  not  suspect  how  effectively  they  are 
posed !  " 


8          WITH  THE  y; /•:>•/'  I\TI-:J\TIO\X: 

Kmm<jtt's   lingers   tightened   upon   lie  is,  — 
his  ejaculation  struck  sharply  across  her  cool, 
measured  sentences. 

••  I  know  that   woman  !  " 

I  If  could  hardly  have  been  heard  on  the 
pia/./.a,  but  the  brunette  looked  up  at  that 
instant  and  sa\v  him. 

Clara  Morgan  \\-as,  as  I  have  said,  rather 
shrewd  than  quirk  of  apprehension,  but  she 
was  observant  and  retentive.  She  recollected 
distinctly  in  after-days  what  she  was  scarcely 
conscious  at  the  moment  that  she  saw.  —  tin; 
mingling  of  recognition,  surprise,  pain,  and 
pleasure  in  the  eloquent  look  that  leaped 
to  meet  Emmett's,  —  a  glance  so  vivid  and 
rapid  that  she  was  positively  di/./v  as  she 
turned  to  her  husband  for  explanation.  He 
had  changed  color.  —  she-  recollected  that, 
too.  in  that  after-time, — but  he  smiled  gavlv 
in  leaning  over  the  rail  to  wave  a  salute. 
The'  woman  below  had  started  to  her  feet 
with  impetuosity  that  directed  the  atten 
tion  of  her  companions  to  the  upper  balcony. 
She  advanced  a  few  paces  and  smiled  radi 
antly. 

"Will  vou  come  down9"  Her  voice  "car 
ried"  so  well  over  the  heads  of  the  prom- 


.1    MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  9 

enaders  that  none  of  them  halted  to  stare,  yet 
the  couple  above  heard  the  words. 

Emmett  bowed  acquiescence,  and  drew  his 
wife  within  the  room  behind  them. 

"If  von  don't  mind,  dear,'"  -—  he  said,  in 
deferential  appeal.  "  It  is  Mrs.  Gillette  and 
her  daughter,  —  old  and  dear  friends  of  mine. 
I  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  know  them.  Is 
this  your  shawl  ?" 

Involuntarily  Clara  spoke  and  moved  more 
deliberately  than  usual,  because  he  talked 
fast  and  seemed  excited.  She  had  long  ago 
established  to  her  satisfaction  the  fact  that 
she  must  be  his  balance-wheel,  and  held  her 
self  ever  ready  to  report  for  duty. 

"It  will  always  gratify  me  to  meet  your 
friends,"  -  —  witli  precisely  the  right  inflection 
and  emphasis.  "  That  is  my  ulster,  my  dear  ! 
I  will  o'et  a  shawl.'' 

o 

She  selected,  leisurely,  one  from  several  in 
the  tray  of  her  trunk  ;  and,  with  it  over  her 
arm,  led  the  way  down  the  corridor.  On  the 
stairway  she  observed,  with  a  slight  smile:  — 

"Am  I  to  infer  from  your  agitation  that 
this  is  an  early  flame  of  yours?" 

She  put  it  plainly,  and  in  less  refined 
phrase  than  he  would  have  expected  had 


10        H777/  Tin-:  /;/•>/•  /.vv7-;.vv/o.v>  .• 


lie  li;id  time  to  think.  lie  glanced  at  her 
quickly. 

"  Never,  I  assure  you  !  Except  that  all 
<»!'  us  fellows  considered  adorat  io;i  of  kaivn 
(iilleite  a  part  of  our  curriculum.  lie;1 
father  Avas  one  of  our  professors.  I  must 
have  mentioned  the  family  to  you?" 

••No.  I  should  m>t  have  forgotten  the 
daughter's  name.  U7/<//  do  you  call  her'/" 

••She  A\"  as  aetuallv  christened  •  kareiihap- 
])Ueh  '  for  her  grandmother,  Avho  left  her  liftv 
thousand  dollars  as  a  consequence.*' 

k"  The  moiir\  was  dearly  earned."  ('lara's 
short  upper  lip  eiirled.  "Vet  her  mother 
looks  relined  ami  sensible." 

"She  is  the  sweetest  saint  out  of  heaven! 
I  can  never  forjvt  her  goodness  to  me. — a 
green  eountr\'  Itov.  She  ^'ave  me  the  run  <>t 
her  house,  —  a  1  iheral  education  in  itself." 

•'\Vith  ])ermi>sioii  to  adore  her  handsome 
daughter  7  " 

'I  he  shortening  upper  lip.  more  than  tone 
and  words,  provoked  the  vouug  hushand  to 
the  lirst  liastv  word  sin.'  had  ever  heard  from 
him. 

••I)on't  he  ahsnrd.  ('lara!  I  have  kejit 
nothin  in  mv  ast  hack  irom  \'ou. 


A   MIDSUMMER  EPISODE.  11 

They  were  in  the  thick  of  the  swim  below 
by  now,  threading  their  way  through  the 
brilliant,  shifting  throng  filling  the  rotunda, 
halls,  and  veranda.  The  band  was  playing  in 
the  gallery  of  the  dining-room,  the  doors  of 
which  were  opened  as  they  passed.  There 
was  no  opportunity  for  further  discussion. 

Nobody —  much  less  a  right-hearted,  right- 
mannered  young  woman,  brought  up  to 
reverence  age  —  could  be  stiff  with  the  gra 
cious  old  lady,  who  held  Clara's  hand  in  hers 
while  she  thanked  Emmett  for  bringing  his 
bride  down  to  them. 

"  He  was  one  of  my  best-beloved  boys," 
said  the  gentle  Aroice.  "  I  can  promise  that 
he  will  be  a  good  husband.  Not  that  you 
need  the  guarantee,  but  the  testimony  of  an 
old  friend  is  worth  something.'' 

"  Don't  monopolize  her,  Mater,"  inter 
posed  the  daughter.  "  She  grows  more  dis 
criminating  and  more  greedy  of  the  best 
things  every  year,  Emmett.  And  you  know- 
that  she  was  never  generous  to  us  lesser 
beauties." 

"  I  recollect  her  weakness  —  and  ours  ! ';' 
Emmett  promptly  followed  suit.  "  Clara,  I 
must  have  you  know  my  old  friend — Karen ! n 


12  WITH   THE  JiKST  I.\TEXTI<>.\.<  : 

There  was  a  perceptible  halt  before  In- 
brought  out  the  word  laughingly  ;ui<l  apolo 
getically.  Mrs.  (iillette  eanie  to  his  help. 

"  My  daughter,  Mrs.  Dumaresque,  niv  dear 
Mrs.  Morgan.  —  whom  you  must  allow  your 
husband  to  call  bv  the.  old  boy-and-girl  name. 
Lei  me  introduce  my  young  friend.  .Miss 
Manly.  Captain  Dale.  Mrs.  Morgan!  Mr. 
(iates  !  Mr.  Uomeyn  !  " 

The  statelv  gra,-e  of  the  little  ceremonv 
put  all  at  their  ease.  Recovering  from  the 
bow  bestowed  upon  the  last-named  person 
age,  Clara  found  herself  face  to  face  with 
Mrs.  Dumaresque,  whose  eves  were  lixed 
upon  her  with  new  interest. 

'•Ah!  I  \vassure  we  had  met  before,  and 
that  I  o\ved  von  something.  As  usual,  instinct 
is  \viser  than  reason.  Mother,  do  vou  not 
recognize  your  benefactress  of  ten  davs  ago? 
Do  vou  forget  that  but  for  her  self-denying 
kindness  you  would  have  faced  the  fashion- 
<ible  world  of  Niagara  with  the  grime  of  a 
night's  travel  upon  you.  without  the  chance 
to  rub  out  a  single  wrinkle  of  the  do/ens  left 
by  the  pillows  of  a  Wagner  car  berth? 

••1  do  recollect  the  face," -- Mrs.  (iillette 
recorded  it  affectionately,  —  "and  am  Mad  to 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  13 

owe  the  benefit  to  the  wife  of  my  old  favor 
ite.  You  must  know  "  —  turning  to  Einmett 
—  u  that  I  am  seventy -three  years  old,  and, 
as  this  rattlepate  intimates,  looked  at  least 
eighty  that  morning,  when  four  healthy 
young  girls  persisted  in  keeping  possession  of 
the  dressing-room,  one  at  a  time,  for  nearly 
an  hour.  Mrs.  Morgan  stood  next  in  the 
queue  outside,  and  generously  yielded  her 
place  to  me.  It  was  one  of  the  little  kind 
nesses  that  circumstance  converts  into  signal 
favors.'' 

Clara  colored  deeply  at  the  discovery  that 
made  her  the  conspicuous  figure  of  the  group, 
yet  there  was  pleasure  in  the  distinction. 

"  It  was  not  worth  mentioning  or  recollect 
ing,"'  she  said,  with  simple  courtesy,  that 
became  her  well.  "  I  had  plenty  of  time  for 
even  such  an  elaborate  toilette  as  the  quar 
tette  of  young  ladies  considered  necessary, 
for  we  were  going  on  to  Detroit,  and  I  over 
heard  you  speak  of  stopping  at  Niagara.'' 

The  little  party  broke  up  presently.  Cap 
tain  Dale  was  "  due  at  the  Fort,''  and  made 
his  courtly  adieux  after  asking  permission 
to  call  upon  the  newly  arrived  pair.  Mr. 
llomeyn  accompanied  him  down  the  veranda; 


14        \vrni  THE  HE.<T  L\TK.\TIOXS: 

Mr.  Gates  walked  away  with  Miss  Manly. 
The  tide  of  lite  was  setting  stroiiLjlv  in  the 
•direction  of  the  salle-d-manger. 

"And  seeing  and  breathing  are  not  dining. 
• — even  at  Mackinac,"  remarked  Mrs.  Dumi- 
resque.  plaintively.  "  A  l)alsamie  zephyr  is 
not  a  bad  first  course,  but,  as  a  y>/V<r  <lc  rt'xiat- 
ancc.  a  choice  sunset  is  n»t  a  success.  It  is 
philosophical  to  submit  to  necessitv.  Mater. 
shall  we  go  in  to  dinner?" 

Clara  had  her  temper  in  such  control  as  to 
!>>•  but  remotely  conscious  that  she  had  one. 
It  was  not,  therefore,  that  plebeian  and 
unrighteous  element  v,  Inch  gave  her  tin- 
sense  of  a  reversal  of  currents  when  Kmmett 
inquired  innocently,  on  the  way  to  the  din- 
ing-hall,  if  it  were  possible  to  secure  two 
seats  at  the  *ame  table  with  the  mother  and 
daughter. 

This  meeting  with  her  husband's  former 
friends  was  the  first  break  upon  the  delicious 
*"!//i(<le  <i  ifi'iu-  which  (when  a  bridal  tour  is 
not  a  failure)  is  the  lobbv  leading  direct 
through  an  ajar  and  widening  gate  into 
Kden.  The  opening  narrowed  to  a  tantali/- 
ing  crack  at  her  bridegroom's  disposition  to 
admit  others  into  the  sacred  enclosure.  She 


.1    J/msrJ/.YET?   EPISODE.  15 

liked  society  and  eligible  acquaintances  as 
much  us  any  one,  but  it  might  give  rise 
to  inconvenience  and  annoyance  —  it  would 
certainly  hamper  their  movements  were  they 
to  attach  themselves  to  any  party  as  yet.  It 
was  unlike  Emmett's  habitual  consideration 
for  her  comfort  to  make  it  impossible  for  her 
to  object  to  a  proposition  that  might  Avell  be 
obnoxious  to  her. 

Mrs.  Dumaresque  sent  a  quick  interrogative 
look  at  the  impassive  face  behind  which  this 
train  of  reasoning  went  on,  before  answering. 

"  I  dare  say  it  might  be  contrived.  That 
is,  if  you  really  wish  it." 

"  Certainlv  we  do  !     It  will  be  a  charmino- 

»  O 

arrangement  —  at  least  to  us.  There  is  no 
drearier  desert  than  the  eating-room  of  a 
monster  hotel,  where  one  has  not  an  ac 
quaintance  among  the  hundreds  who  flock  in 
empty  and  go  away  full.  Eh,  Clara?" 

Was  the  man  carried  out  of  himself  by  the 
thrilling  excitement  of  an  encounter  with 
a  couple  of  women  who  brought  back  his 
college  days?  The  balance-wheel  turned 
steadily  upon  its  pivotal  centre. 

"It  would,  as  you  sav,  be  a  charming 
arrangement  for  us,  always  providing  it  does 


If!        WITH  Tin-:  /;/•:>•/"  /. v TK xno. vs.- 

not  inconvenience  your  friends.  We  must 
not  trespass  upon  their  kindness." 

The  neatly  trimmed  conventionality  titled 
exactly  into  place,  and  masculine  \vit  detected 
no  friction. 

Mrs.  Dlimaresqlie  paused  in  the  door  of 
the  banqueting-hall  to  speak  to  the  princely 
functionary  stationed  there. 

••Have  I  sufficient  interest  at  court  to  L,ret 
places  at  our  table,  for  our  friends?"  was  her 
wa v  of  wording  the  request . 

"Assuredly.  Madame,  if  you  desire  it.  I 
will  see  to  it  m\  self." 

He  led  the  way  down  the  long-  room,  filled 
now  with  the  incense  of  savory  food,  the 
tinkle  of  silver  upon  china,  the  tramp  of 
waiters,  and  babble  of  a  thousand  voices,  and 
seated  the  party  with  dignity  and  despatch. 

The  phrase  was  Mrs.  Dumaresque's.  One 
of  her  countless  indi vidualisms  wa>  the  use 
of  such.  Apt  epithets  and  telling  turns  of 
speech  slipped  from  her  tongue  a>  common 
places  from  the  lips  of  the  average  woman. 
Another  of  what  Clara  already  be^'an  to 
note  as  her  "  ways."  was  the  bestowal  upon 
all  who  served  her.  in  whatever  capacity, 
acknowledgment  which  wu>  gracious,  and 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  17 

seemed  grateful.     Her  bow  and  smile  to  the 

O 

accomplished  official  who  had  granted  her 
request  might  have  sent  a  cabinet  minister 
away  happy.  Unsuspecting  (and  obtuse) 
Emmett,  throwing  himself  zestfully  into  the 
bright  rapids  of  reminiscence  and  persiflage 
that  beguiled  the  tedium  of  changing  courses, 
would  have  been  stricken  into  dumbness  of 
amazement  had  he  read  the  verdict  gradually 
formulated  in  the  mind  that,  like  most  de 
liberate  and  conscientious  intellects,  seldom 
changed  an  opinion. 

Clara,  appearing  to  listen  with  a  fixed 
half-smile,  which  denoted  the  precise  degree 
of  indulgent  amusement  at  graceful  nonsense 

O  O 

she  could  not,  if  she  would,  and  would  not 
if  she  could,  emulate,  listening  appreciatively 
with  white  lids  down-dropped  over  honest 
eyes  she  could  not  quite  trust,  had  never 
looked  prettier,  thought  her  proud  husband. 
The  soft  da/./le  from  moonlike  globes  brought 
out  red-gold  reflections  in  her  wealth  of 
tresses  ;  the  heat  of  the  room  enriched  her 
complexion  ;  the  ample  folds  of  her  creamy 
draperies  were  still  and  statuesque ;  her 
demeanor  was  calm  and  dignified  bevond. 

O  v 

her  years. 


is  \\'ITir    'I'llE   7>'7->T   7.V77:.V770.V>  : 

••What  a  contrast  to  these  chattering 
dolls!"  thought  the  happy  fellow,  losing  the 
point  of  Mrs.  Dumarescjue's  liest  epigram  in 
a  comprehensive  .survey  of  the  live  hundred- 
aiid-odd  inferior  women  near  and  distant. 
'•And  Mrs.  Gillette  and  Karen  are  just  the 
people  to  understand  her." 

His  divinity  lost  not  a  glance  or  syllable 
of  her  vivacious  vln-ii-vi,^.  least  of  all  those 
directed  at  Kmmett  and  Messrs.  (Jatvs  and 
Ronieyn,  who  made  np  the  partv  of  MX  at 
the  round  table.  Before  the  i:ieal  wasnearlv 
over,  her  judgment  and  ihe  evidence  support 
ing  it  were  epitomized  and  committed  to  the 
keeping  of  her  tenacious  meniorv. 

"A  brilliant,  flippant  —  probably  a  design- 
iiiLT —  MAN'S  WOMAN  ! 


A   MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  19 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  supreme  beauty  of  that  first  evening 
upon  The  Fairy  Isle  was  something  the 
wash  of  years  could  not  efface  from  the 
memories  of  the  four  who  reassembled  upon 
the  veranda  after  dinner. 

The  pure  white  sickle  of  the  new  moon, 
her  delicately  pointed  tips  defined  to  the 
uttermost  taper  in  the  crystalline  atmosphere, 
was  poised  over  a  band  of  tinted  vapor,  dusky 
crimson  above,  and  shading  into  warm  gray 
that  met  and  melted  into  the  colder  gray 
of  the  water-line.  Not  another  cloud  was 
abroad  in  all  the  vast  dome  shutting  down 
closely  and  lovingly  about  the  paradise  of 
lake  and  island.  Against  the  horizon  arose 
straight  streaks  of  smoke,  graceful  and  tenu 
ous,  from  scores  of  steam-craft  and  remoter 
forest-fires.  The  broad  breast  of  the  encom 
passing  waters  palpitated  with  light.  There 
was  a  nameless  and  mysterious  look  of  glad 
expectation  in  the  smile  it  returned  to  the 


2<>       WITH   Tin:   /;/-;>T   /.v77-;.vyvo.v.s  .- 

bonding  sky.  Strange  radiance,  n<>l  to  In- 
traced  to  tlu-  paling  west,  brought  near  the 
mainland  towns  of  Chuboygan  and  St.  Ig- 
nacc  :  defined  every  twig  and  deepened  everv 
hollow  of  the  arbor-vitiu  grove,  washed  into 
g.  irgeonsness  of  color  the  red  roots  and  gam 
boge  walls  of  the  houses  in  the  lower  village, 
and  set  panes  of  ruby  and  topa/.  in  the  sum 
mer  cottages  on  the  cliff-shoulders  bevond 
the  ciiritranxci'nl  buildings. 

"Pearl  and  princess  of  islands!"  Mrs. 
Dumaresque's  voice,  so  thrilling-sweet  and 
low.  that  Clara  did  not  recogni/.e  it,  ended 
the  rapt  silence.  "\Vlio  will  help  me  to 
words  worthv  of  her  '.'  " 

"•The  IIolv  Jerusalem,  made  readv  as 
a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband,  having 
the  glorv  of  (ion,  her  light  like  unto  a  stone 
most  precious,  it  as  it  were  a  jasper  stone, 
clear  as  crystal.'  " 

At  the  accents,  hardly  louder  than  a  sigh 
of  ecstatic  anticipation,  the  tears  sprang  to 
Clara's  eves.  Instinctively,  her  hand  moved 
to  touch  that  which  lay  on  the  arm  of  the 
speaker's  chair,  and  met,  instead,  the  daugh 
ter's  nervous  fingers  clasping  her  mother's 
in  a  simultaneous  impulse. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  21 

"Don't,  darling!"  said  her  rapid  under 
tone.  "  You  will  be  one  of  the  twelve  white 
angels,  I  know,  but  don't  break  my  heart  by 
reminding  us  of  it.  The  Mater  gets  the  best 
of  us  all — -every  time  !  "  she  continued,  in  her 
wonted  key.  "  Nobody  else  can  be  so  con 
fidently  depended  upon  for  bringing  forth 
treasures,  new  and  old,  in  the  exact  nick  of 
opportunity.  Not  that  we  would  not  have 
thought  of  that  passage  from  the  sacred  clas 
sic  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  so,  —  given 
leisure  for  reflection.  That  we  did  not  is 
mere  accident.  But  the  fact  remains  that 
we  did  not" 

Clara  had  withdrawn  her  hand  with  a 
motion  that  made  it  uncertain  whether  or 
not  her  intention  had  been  to  settle  the  folds 
of  her  gown,  and  altered  the  position  of  her 
(.-hair  to  command  a  wider  view.  At  the 
same  moment  she  changed  the  conversation 
civilly,  but  decidedly. 

"It  is  singular  that  Mackinac  is  so  little 
known  at  the  East  as  a  summer  resort,"  she 
remarked,  in  her  neatest  style.  "I  suppose 
because  it  has  so  few  historical  associations, 
—  nothing,  indeed,  to  commend  it  to  the 
tourist  except  the  air,  the  scenery,  and  the 


'2-       WITH    THE   /;/•>•/"   /.Y77-;.Y77o.Y> •; 

lishing.  Every  new  place  must  win  its  way 
iiitn  popular  favor.  And  there  is  a  feeling 
at  the  East  that  everything  west  of  Niagara 
is  crude  and  rough." 

An  uncomfortable  pause  ensued.  Emmett 
was  mortified,  the  others  surprised  at  crass 
ignorance  that  was  vet  pardonable  in  the 
product  of  a  system  which  educates  by  means 
of  text-books,  and  deities  precedent. 

Mrs.  Dumaresque  arose  to  the  occasion. 

"Thank  vou.  Mrs.  Morgan  !  I  have  been, 
within  eight  days,  so  crusin-d  by  the  shields 
and  bracelets  of  superior  information,  —  have 
so  grovelled  and  groaned  in  the  humiliation 
of  positive  know-nothing-ism  as  to  this,  the 
centre  and  pride  of  national  historic  grounds, 
that  I  embrace  vou  in  spirit  as  a  sister  in  mis 
fortune.  Not  that  the  people  who  ban  us 
are  much  wiser  than  we.  I  dare  sav,  if  the 
truth  were  known,"  —  turning  severely  upon 
Emniett,  —  "that  this  man  who  took  a  col- 
lege-first  twelve  years  ago  could  not  tell 
us  for  his  life  the  name  of  the  first  white 
man  who  set  eve  and  foot  upon  Mackinac 
Island  —  or  the  date  of  the  discovery?'' 

!!'•  did  know,  having  "read  up"  on  the 
subject  during  a  former  visit.  Appreciating 


A    MIT) SUMMER    EPISODE.  23 

the  generous  ruse  of  his  whilom  comrade, 
lie  made  an  embarrassed  laugh  do  for  reply. 

"  I  knew  it !  "  triumphantly.  "  Then  —  in 
case  somebody  more  erudite  should  catechise 
you  —  please  make  a  note  to  the  effect  that 
John  Nicolet,  a  French  explorer,  circum 
navigated  the  island  in  1634.  That  was 
fourteen  years  after  your  Pilgrim  forbears 
moored  their  bark  where,  by  the  way,  there 
is  not,  and  wasn't  then,  more  than  one  rock, 
and  that  not  big  enough  for  the  narrowest 
possible  binding  for  the  stern  shore.  Thirty- 
one  years  after  Nicolet's  voyage,  in  1665, 
Perrot,  another  Frenchman  (the  French  are 
always  busybodies)  was  interpreter  and  trader 
between  his  countrymen  and  the  Indians,  on 
what  a  Church  writer  of  1670  calls  '  the 
famous  Island  of  Missilimackinac/  The  In 
dians,  being  a  leisurely  and  lazy  race  off  the 
war-path,  could  indulge  their  taste  for  poly 
syllables.  Four  years  later,  Claude  Allouex, 
a  Jesuit  priest,  founded  the  first  Christian 
parish  in  this  heathen  region.  Had  you  ever 
heard  that?"  menacingly. 

"  Don't  you  mean  Marquette  ?  " 

"  Distinctly,  I  do  not  mean  Marquette  ! 
Tie  never  saw  Missilimackinac  (with  your 


24       WITH   THE   /•;/•>•  r   I.\TI:.\TIO.\S  / 

permission  we  will  <lroj>  the    'missile')    until 
1H71 — sonic    say     lt>7B.       They     found     his 
<_;Tave  over  there  at  St.  lo-uace  "    —  pointing  — 
'•more  than  two  hundred  vears  afterward." 

Leaning  bad':  in  her  rocking-chair,  her 
ryes  iijion  the  spires  and  ehinineys  of  St. 
iLniace,  now  fading  into  grav  indistinctness, 
she  resumed,  presently,  as  in  a  reverie:  — 

"The  Jesuit  missionaries  held  the  Cross 
h';di  and  bravely  for  the  next  thirty  years. 
The  French  supplied  the  Aborigines  with 
lircarins,  the  Fnglish  with  lirewater.  Iro- 
cuois,  Ilurons,  and  Ottawas  made  a  slau^di- 
tcr-jK'U  of  the  little  island.  The  soil  is 
planted  as  thick  with  hones  and  skulls  as  a 
potato-patch  with  "eves.  More  than  one 
plan  of  massacre  was  discovered  and  thwarted 
!.y  the  ('hri>ti;in  Fathers — such  a  handful  of 
pah-  heroes  anion^  red  demons! 

••  \Ve  do  not.  as  a  rule,  speak  of  the  prop 
agators  ot  a  false  faith  as  heroes!  com 
mented  Clara,  in  drvness  shot  with  pietism. 
"  The  Christian  Fathers  referred  to  were,  I 
take  it,  Roman  ( 'atholics." 

••  I'rohahlv."  -  -  In  the  same  hreath,  hut 
\vith  an  abrupt  return  to  her  former  tone  of 
saticv  banter.  —  "Confess,  Sir  Ignoramus! 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  25 

haven't  I  confounded  you  with  my  array  of 
statistical,  historical,  and  ecclesiastical  lore  ? 
Entre  nous,  I  shall  have  forgotten  it  all  by  to 
morrow.  Our  cicerone,  an  intelligent  French 
man,  and  for  over  thirty  years  a  resident  of 
the  Island,  primed  me  with  it  only  this  morn 
ing,  and  I  entered  the  dates  in  my  notebook. 
Hence  this  display  of  facts  and  authorities. 
\Ye  go  to  St.  Ignace  to-morrow  in  the  after 
noon  boat  to  be  further  imbued." 

Clara  hearkened  as  to  a  foreign  tongue. 
The  chronological  summary  she  rated  as 
cheap  display  of  superficial  knowledge ;  the 
disclaimer  succeeding  it  was,  to  her  notion, 
in  worse  taste  still.  The  fluent,  rolling 
periods  bewildered  her.  She  could  not  de 
cide  if  the  rhodomontades,  which  amused 
Emmett  to  an  irrational  degree,  were  affecta 
tion,  or  a  trick  that  had  become  second  na 
ture.  Mrs.  (rillette  belonged  to  a  different 
school.  She  would  be  an  ornament  to  the 
choicest  society,  even  to  the  innermost  ring 
of  the  "best  people"  in  Lisbon,  New  Jersey. 
Her  daughter  resembled  her  as  a  blue-jay  a 

O  *)  V 

dove,  or  a  nasturtium  a  lily. 

"  To  St.  Tgnace  !  May  we  join  the 
party?"  cried  Emmett,  witli  the  fatal  facility 


'2b        WITH    Tin-:   /)' /•>'/•    /.v '/•/•; .v 770. v.s: 

nf  liis  sex  iii  multiplying  blunder  hv  blunder, 
with  a  product  of  irrevocable  feminine  dis- 
comfiturc.  "  "We  should  then  begin  the  his 
tory  of  the  Island  and  vicinity  at  the  right 
end.  with  the  added  advantage  of  youi1  famil- 
iaritv  with  legend  and  fact.  You  see  we 
know  next  to  nothing.  That  is,"-  —  struck 
by  something  unsympathetic  in  the  set  of  his 
wife's  head  upon  the  shaft-like  neck,  and  the 
steadiness  of  her  scrutiny  of  the  sand-bars 
Kound  Island  holds  nut  as  if  praving  for 
niercv  from  the  incoming  waves,  showing  at 
this  hour  and  in  the  fantastic  li^ht  like 
faintly  illuminated  exclamation  points,  —  "I 
make  confession  for  myself  without  implicat 
ing  mv  wife." 

Clara's  head  turned  slowlv.  The  patented 
semi-smile  was  obedient  to  her  summons. 

••  Mv  confession  of  abject  ignorance  pre 
ceded  yours.  But  does  it  occur  to  von,  mv 
dear  Kmmett.  that  it  would  be  criminallv 
selfish  to  inflict  such  a  combination  upon  bet 
ter-informed  people.  We  have  agreed,  von 
know,  not  to  oblige  others  to  readjust  plans 
of  travel  and  pleasure  on  our  account.  And, 
excuse  me,  —  but  this  proposition  of  vonrs 
does  seem  to  me  like  such  an  imposition  !" 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  27 

It  was  all  she  dared  say.  She  felt  that  it 
ought  to  be  enough.  Her  voice  was  some 
what  high-pitched,  and  only  held  from  shrill 
ness  by  careful  management :  her  enunciation 
was  punctilious.  The  only  effect  of  emotion 
upon  her  tone  was  to  thin  it  slightly.  In  en 
tering  the  civil  deprecation  she  laughed  just 
enough  to  mark  her  appreciation  of  the 
humor  of  the  situation  in  which  her  husband's 
thoughtlessness  had  placed  themselves  and 
their  friends. 

To  the  sweet  old  gentlewoman  at  her 
side,  amusement  and  demur  were  fit  and 
pretty. 

"  My  love  ! "  she  said,  passing  her  hand 
lightly  and  caressingly  down  the  arm  of  her 
favorite's  wife.  "  You  must  not  deny  us  the 
privilege  of  being  of  a  little  service  to  you. 
My  worldly-minded  child  here  has  been 
pining  for  a  new  sensation  for  three  days. 
Fate  is  propitious  in  supplying  such  an  addi 
tion  to  our  party.  You  cannot  impose  upon 
us  by  giving  us  as  much  of  your  time  and 
company  as  you  can  spare  from  each  other. 
We  do  not  want  to  be  de  trop,  but  come  to  us 
when  you  will.  The  more  we  see  of  you,  the 
better  for  us." 


28         WITH    THE    11E<T    l.\TL\\TKL\*  : 

Clara's  little  laugh,  modified  by  deferential 
gratitude,  was  offered  as  a  prelude  to  her 
reply. 

"You  arr  only  too  kind,  but  you  must 
not  let  us  interfere  with  the  least  of  your 
arrangements." 

••  Dear  Mrs.  Dumaresque  !  We  are  a.  com 
mittee  ! " 

"  Ambassadors  on  a  mission  !  " 

"  Petitioners  to  Her  Majesty  !  " 

Onslaught  and  chorus  came  from  a  party 
led  bv  Miss  Manly  and  Mr.  dates.  T\v<> 
other  couples  were  close  upon  their  heels. 
The  six  explained,  first  in  concert,  then  in 
successive  disjointedness,  that  a  drawing- 
room  full  <>f  admirers  had  deputed  them  to 
entreat  Mrs.  Dumaresque  to  favor  them 
with  a  recitation. 

"Mr.  Waller  will  sing,  and  Mr.  Bagley 
plav,  if  you  will  set  them  the  example  of 
gracious  compliance  with  our  request,"  said 
the  breathless  girl.  "They  will  have  the 
best  wine  first,  they  say.  They  demand 
payment  in  advance." 

"Am  I  coin  of  the  realm?"  queried  Mrs. 
Dumaresque,  but  yielding  to  the  gentle  vio 
lence  with  which  her  young  votary  urged 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  29 

her  to  rise.  "  Or  do  you  offer  me  as  a 
negotiable  note  to  the  Shylocks  who  will 
give  you  no  credit?" 

It  was  certainly  not  wit,  decided  Clara, 
which  the  embassy  applauded,  Mr.  Romeyn 
offering  his  arm  with  the  suggestion  that  she 
should  "at  once  be  put  into  circulation." 
They  carried  her  off,  after  respectful  apology 
to  her  mother,  who,  to  Clara's  surprise, 
appeared  to  enjoy  the  scene. 

"•  It  is  a  preconcerted  affair,"  she  said  to 
the  Morgans.  "I  suspected  something  of 
the  sort  when  I  noticed  how  fast  the  crowd 
of  promenaders  was  thinning.  This  is  not  a 
;  hop-night,'  and  pleasure-topers  must  devise 
some  entertainment.  You  must  go,  too. 
No,"-  — as  they  lingered,  —  "I  do  not  mind 
being  left  here  alone,  and  the  crowd  and 
heat  would  be  too  much  for  me.  I  want 
you  to  hear  Karen  again,  Emmett.  You 
recollect  her  talent  for  recitation  ?  She  has 
improved  it  carefully  of  late  years." 

She  was  in  mid-recitation  when  husband 
and  wife  had  worked  their  way  to  the 
threshold  of  the  door  nearest  her.  Mrs. 
Emmett  Morgan  was  a  graduate  of  a  cele 
brated  Seminary  for  Young  Ladies,  situated 


30         WITH    THE    JIL'ST    I. \TESTIoyfi  : 

in  Lisbon,  and  therefore  a  judge  of  elocution 
and  other  appurtenances  of  Higher  Educa 
tion  for  Women.  Her  frame  of  mind,  on 
this  occasion,  was  judicial,  her  temper  braced 
and  clamped  to  patient  endurance  of  ''the 
usual  hotel  reading."  She  admitted  men 
tally,  at  the  end  of  two  minutes'  listening, 
that  the  exhibition  was  kw  as  nearly  ladylike 
as  such  a  public,  ail'air  could  be."  There  \vas 
no  mouthing,  no  contortion  of  feature,  and 
as  little  gesticulation  as  was  compatible  with 
an  intense,  forceful  rendering  of  (iabriel 
Dante  Rossetti's  weird  poem,  k>  Sister  Helen," 
—  given  by  request. 

In  response  to  the  importunate  "encore" 
she  accorded  a  selection  Clara  had  never 
heard  before.  As  the  regal  ligure  stepped 
again  upon  the  improvised  dais  at  the  head 
of  the  great  room,  silence  that  could  be  felt 
descended  upon  the  crowd.  I>efore  she  ut 
tered  a  word,  she  had  passed  in  spirit  away 
from  sight  and  sound  of  her  audience.  The 
wistful  eyes  looked  over  and  Ix-youd  the  sea 
of  heads  to  snowy-browed  Sierras,  her  nostrils 
dilated  slightly,  and  lips  parted  to  inhale 
breezes  wild  with  the  sweep  across  a  hundred 
Vugues  of  treeless  prairie. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE  31 

"  I  want  free  life,  and  I  want  free  air  ! 
And  I  sigh  for  the  canter  after  the  cattle, 
The  crack  of  the  whips  like  shot  in  a  battle, 
The  melee  of  horns  and  hoofs  and  heads, 
That  wars  and  mangles  and  scatters  and  spreads, 
The  green  beneath  and  the  blue  above, 
And  dash  and  danger  —  " 

Thus  far,  passionately  impatient  of  enclos 
ing  walls ;  of  the  glare  of  electric  lights  and 
stifling  atmosphere  ;  disdainful  of  the  throng 
that  hemmed  her  about,  and  the  eyes  focused 
upon  the  pale  exaltation  of  her  face.  Mid 
way  in  the  impetuous  alliteration  she  paused, 
the  dark  fringes  of  her  lids  fell  over  dewy 
eyes,  every  facial  line  unbent;  in  her  voice 
resonance  flowed  into  liquid  sweetness  in 
slow,  lingering  enunciation  :  — 

"  And  life  and  love  — 
And  —  Lasca !  " 

There  was  stillness  while  one  might  count 
twenty  before  the  rich  voice  took  up  the 
tale,  recounting  it  as  if  it  were  her  own, 
smile  chasing  shadow  over  her  face,  until  a 
deeper  silence  dropped  like  a  cloud  upon  the 
listeners  with  — 

"  Lasca  was  dead  !  " 


3:2       WITH   Tin-:   /;/•;>••/•   I.\TI-:\TIOXS  : 

Then,    without    the    lift   of    a    linger,   with 
seareelv  a  HM'  or  fall  of  the  monotone  fraught 
with    sorrow,    lon^-iii^.    and     dull    despair,— 
;  he  rest  was  t<  >ld  :  — 

••  I  ^onv,ed  nut  a  Arrive  a  few  feet  deep. 
And  there,  in  Earth's  arms  I  laid  her  to  sleep; 
And  there  she  is  lyiu^,  and  no  one  knows: 
And  tlie  summer  shines  and  the  winter  snows; 
For  many  a  day  the  flowers  have  spread 
A  pall  of  p"ta!s  over  her  head; 
And  the  little  L,rra\  hawk  lianas  aloft  in  the  air, 
And  the  shy  coyote  trots  here  and  there. 
And  the.  black  snake  glides  and  glitter.-  and  slides 

Into  a  rift  ii.  a  cot  tonwood  tree  : 
And  the  Im/./.anl  .-ails  on. 
And  comes  and  is  ^one. 

Stately  and  still,  like  a  ship  at  sea, — 
And  I  wonder  whv  I  do  not  care 

For  the  tilings  that   are  like  the  things  that  were, — 
Does  half  my  heart  lie  Imried  there. 

In  Texas,  down  l>y  the  llio  (irandi; '.' " 

111  tin1  swiiv  and  stir  that  followeil  the  eon- 
chiding  line,  a  voiee  asked,  almost  in  Clara's 
ear :  — 

"  Who  is  she?" 

kv  A  Mrs.  Deinarest,  from  New  York.  A 
rich  wido\v  and  a  lielle.  Fine — wasn't,  it?" 

"  Demarcx/ — did  you  sav  ?  " 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  33 

The  Morgans  moved  to  escape  from  the 
crowd  as  he  spoke,  and  Clara  confronted  the 
speaker,  lie  was  tall,  his  hair  and  moustache 
were  slightly  grizzled  ;  his  port  was  unmis 
takably  military,  and  there  was  a  scar,  like 
that  left  by  a  sabre-gash,  across  the  left  lower 
jaw.  She  noted  these  particulars  in  one  pass 
ing  glance  ;  then  both  men  were  absorbed  by 
the  crowd. 

"  I  heard  some  one  call  your  friend,  Mrs. 
Dumaresque,  'a  rich  widow  and  a  belle' 
this  evening,"  Clara  said  to  her  husband  that 

O  ' 

night.  "I  suppose,  then,  that  her  affliction 
is  not  recent?  She  wears  black  lace,  too, 
and  that  doesn't  follow  very  close  upon 
weeds.  Did  you  know  her  husband  ?  Who 
was  he  ?  How  long  has  he  been  dead  ?  " 

Emmett  stooped  to  kiss  her  —  unreproved, 
there  being  no  spectators — with  an  amused 
smile. 

%>  So  black  lace  ought  not  to  tread  upon 
the  heels  of  widow's  weeds  !  Live  and  learn  ! 
I  never  saw  Karen  Gillette's  husband.  lie 
was  an  army  man,  a  captain,  I  believe,  and,  I 
have  heard,  was  strikingly  handsome.  What 
was  query  No.  4?  Oh!  I  do  not  know  when 
he  died.  '  In  point  of  fact,'  as  Cousin  Feenix 


34         WITH    THE    VEST    INTENTIONS: 

\vould  say,  I  did  not  know  that  she  was  a 
widow  until  to-night  —  poor  girl !  Nor  did  I 
know  that  she  is  a  belle.  She  deserves  to  be, 
for  she  is  something  much  better,  —  a  noble, 
true,  genuine  woman,  and  as  such,  capable  of 
appreciating  my  wife." 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  35 


CHAPTER  III. 

MRS.  MORGAN  was  pleased  to  find  the 
hotel  veranda  nearly  deserted  when  she  and 
her  husband  came  out  to  stroll  in  the  fresh 
air  before  breakfast.  Besides  themselves  and 
a  dyspeptic  old  gentleman  taking  a  solemn 
constitutional,  the  only  other  occupants  of 
the  breezy  spaciousness  were  six  prospective 
fishermen  in  rough  garb,  packing  lines,  reels, 
and  fly-hooks  for  an  excursion. 

"Nine  rounds  make  a  measured  mile," 
remarked  the  dyspeptic,  wheezingly,  to  Em- 
mett,  as  the  two  young  people  fell  into 
step  for  a  rapid  walk.  "  The  fact  should 
be  conspicuously  placarded,  sir,  for  the 
convenience  and  comfort  of  guests — pla 
carded  !  " 

They  left  him  muttering  in  his  beard. 

"  A  professional  grumbler  !  "  said  Emmett. 
"  No  hotel  is  complete  without  him  !  " 

"  Poor  man  !  "  sighed  Clara.  "  To  be  un 
happy  here,  on  such  a  morning  !  " 


3»>          M777f    THE    I1KST    /.VY'AVT/VO.VN  : 

A  silver-gray  dawn,  cool,  and  lovely  with 
ha/A-  and  dreamv  distances,  had  ushered  in 
"a  blue  dav."  Pale-blue  reaches  of  shore 
lines:  clearest,  tenderest  a/.nre  above,  with 
intervening  lleets  of  cumulus  clouds,  melt 
ing  into  gray-blue  edges,  sailing  eastward, 
like  squadrons  of  swans  and  cvgnets  :  deep, 
bright  blue  waters,  dimplingly  alive  to  the 
glorious  truth  of  a  new  morrow  —  was  the  fur 
ther  outlook.  From  the  heart  of  the  arbor- 
vita'  grove,  the  thousand  line  streams  of  a 
fountain,  tossed  against  the  wind,  drifted  ami 
swaved  tailglillgly  in  the  tree-tops,  and.  shat 
tered  into  line  snow,  sifted  awav  into  noth 
ingness.  The  break  of  the  waves  upon  the 
gravellv  beach,  the  dash  oi  the  advance,  the 
rush  and  hiss  of  the  retreat,  kept  time  to 
the  rise,  fall,  and  lloat  of  tin-  fountain  spray. 

Kmmctt  noted  that  his  wife  was  too  much 
absorbed  in  the  harness  ot  the  scene,  too  r>e- 
ultant  in  the  response  of  voulh  and  happiness 
to  the  vivii'ving  rn>h  of  the  air,  laden  with 
o/one  and  sparkle,  to  sec — -that  the  fisher 
men  looked  after  her  admiringly  as  slit- 
passed.  Her  gait  was  clastic  and  live:  her 
proud  head,  fresh  color,  and  glad  eyes  were 
mute  revelation  of  fulness  of  enjoyment  of 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  37 

life  and  her  present  environment.  She  was 
a  noble  creature  —  unspoiled,  high-souled, 
superb  in  physique,  pure  in  heart  —  and  all 
his  ! 

"  GOD  make  and  keep  me  worthy  of  her  !  " 
the  young  husband  said,  inwardly,  in  happy 
humility. 

Clara  smiled  up  into  his  eyes  at  that  sec 
ond,  confidingly  yet  naively,  unconscious  of 
the  trend  of  his  thought. 

"  What  are  you  thinking  of  ?  " 

"  Of  you,  my  love  !     Of  you  only  !  " 

She  believed  it  so  fully  that  a  prismatic 
film  swain  over  water,  sky,  and  islands  when 
she  looked  abroad.  Each  hour  was  more 
blessed  than  the  last.  Her  cup  was  full, 
and  there  were  no  cloudy  lees  in  the  bright 
wine. 

A  man  accosted  Emmett  respectfully  on 
their  ninth  beat. 

"  This  is  Mr.  Morgan,  I  believe  ?  I  wras 
told  in  the  office  that  you  wished  to  see  me." 

It  was  the  accomplished  cicerone  recom 
mended  by  Mrs.  Dumaresque  ;  and  while  the 
two  men  arranged  the  details  of  the  drive 
projected  for  the  morrow,  Clara  strolled  into 
the  rotunda.  To  the  left  of  the  main  en- 


38         Tr/777     THE    IlEST 


trance  was  a  square  room  enclosed  on  three 
sides  only.  Two  windows  looked  upon  the 
veranda;  a  lire  crackled  in  the  wide  grate. 
Opposite  this  was  the  conventional  bazaar  for 
the  sale  of  Indian  curiosities,  stationery, 
newspapers,  cigars,  and  novels. 

Struck  by  a  felicitous  idea,  Clara  bought  a 
copy  of  Miss  Woolsoii's  A/inc,  and  ordered  it 
to  be  sent  to  her  room;  then,  seeing  Kmmett 
still  busy  with  the  Frenchman,  she  bethought 
herself  further  to  make  inquiry  concerning 
the  mails.  The  "oilice"  was  at  the  rear  of 
the  rotunda,  and  the  register  lay  open  upon 
the  counter  close  beside  her. 

She  had  just  put  her  question  to  the  clerk 
in  charge  when  some  one  ran  down  the  stairs 
behind  her,  walked  up  to  the  counter,  and 
began  turning  the  leaves  of  the  big  book. 
His  movements  were  so  abrupt,  and  he  was 
so  near,  that  the  bride,  to  whose  apprehension 
familiarity  was  insult,  drew  away  and  glanced 
at  him  defensively. 

It  was  the  man  she  had  seen  last  evening, 
after  the  recitation  of  "  Lasca,"  and  who  had 
asked1  the  reader's  name.  He  was  scanning 
the  scrawled  pages  intently,  his  linger  hurry 
ing  down  a  column  of  arrivals  ten  days  old. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  39 

Clara  saw  the  date  just  as  the  index  finger 
stopped :  — 

Mrs.    G-illette,          1  -»r       ^    7    „., 
1/r       TJ  >  New   York  City, 

Mrs.  Dumaresque,  } 

were  the  bracketed  names  written  boldly  in 
a  woman's  hand.  The  stranger  drew  an  audi 
ble  breath  between  his  teeth ;  then,  looking 
up,  met  Mrs.  Morgan's  eye,  and  became  un 
comfortably  aware  that  she  was  penned  in 
against  the  counter  by  himself  and  two  men 
who  had  backed  toward  them  in  getting  out 
of  the  way  of  passers-by. 

"Excuse  me!"  uttered  the  offender,  in 
civil  concern,  bowing  and  moving  aside  to  let 
her  escape. 

The  way  was  blocked  again,  —  now  by  two 
of  the  fishermen,  creels  and  rod-cases  in  hand. 

"  We  are  only  waiting  for  you,  Major  ! " 
Clara  heard,  in  gliding  between  the  groups, 
her  cheeks  hot,  her  heart  beating  faster  than 
the  occasion  warranted.  None  are  such  stick 
lers  for  the  umvritten  proprieties  as  the  pro 
vincial  £lite,  and  Mrs.  Morgan,  with  all  the 
education  gained  at  the  celebrated  Lisbon 
Seminary,  and  in  months  of  foreign  travel, 
bore  still  the  down  of  self-consciousness,  and 
was  subject  to  the  punctilious  dreads  of  the 


40         WITH    THE    IIEST    I.\TE.\TK).\S  : 

provinces.  Individualism  flourishes  apace  in 
village  and  township,  and  nothing  grows 
faster  in  the  opportunity  there  allowed  fur 
expansion  of  trait  and  idiosyncrasy  than  self- 
conceit. 

The  hridal  pair  spent  the  morning  in  the 
open  air.  sauntering  aimlesslv  for  awhile, 
linallv  establishing  themselves  in  a  eo/.v  nook 
formed  liv  a  clump  of  halsam  lirs.  a  do/en 
yards  or  so  from  ilie  hro\v  of  a  precipitous 
cliff. 

"I  mean  to  begin  a  course  of  current  lit 
erature."  Clara  announced,  when  Kmmett  had 
iinislied  his  eiu'ar.  Iviiig,  more  in  English  tlian 
American  style,  on  the  rough  herbage  at  her 
fcrt.his  arms  pillowing  his  head,  liis  whoh; 
being  steeped  in  la/.y  content.  "Of  course 
li^ht  reading  was  forbidden  at  school,  and 
social  duties  have  left  me  little  time  for  it 
since.  1  bought  A>DH'  this  morning  —  vou 
recollect  that  Mrs.  Gillette  spoke  of  it  last 
night —  for  you  to  read  aloud  while  J  am 
at  work.  That  is  —  unb'ss  yon  object  ?" 

Object?  Could  he  be  anything  but  grate 
ful  for  a  scheme  suggested  bv  her  wish  to 
assimilate  her  own  to  his  views  and  tastes? 
After  all,  vour  rational  woman  is  more  due- 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  41 

tile  in  love's  hands  than  the  pretty  simpleton 
who  professes  to  have  no  will  apart  from  her 
husband's  ! 

They  read  Anne  all  that  golden,  balmy  fore 
noon,  the  winds  whispering  in  the  balsam  cov 
ert,  hiding  them  from  the  public  road ;  the 
lap !  lap !  of  the  waters,  a  hundred  feet 
below,  joining  in  musical  subtones  to  Em- 
mett's  voice.  Clara  had  taken  from  her 
work-bag  a  bit  of  embroidery,  dainty,  intricate 
outlining  in  buff  silk  upon  a  paler  ground. 
"  Something  toward  housekeeping,"  she  said 
to  her  delighted  spouse. 

She  looked  busily  happy  whenever  he 
glanced  at  her  in  turning  a  leaf.  For  him 
self,  he  asked  nothing  more  of  earth  - 
or  of  heaven  —  were  it  possible  to  carry  on 
this  drama  of  innocent  domestic  blessedness 
to  life's  close.  lie  seemed  to  have  been 
born  and  lived  for  two  and  thirty  years 
only  that  he  might  come  to  this  time  and 
place. 

So  they  read  Anne  steadily  for  three  beatific 
hours,  Emmett  deeply  interested,  Clara  mildly 
indulgent  of  the  author's  penchant  for  impe 
cunious  dreamers  like  William  Douglas,  and 
raw  girls  in  island-made  gowns,  with  a  till- 


42         WITH    THE    liEUT    IXTEXTIOlfS: 

ent  for  griddle-cakes,  self-devotion,  and  vocal 

music. 

Now  and  then  the  reader  paused  to  pencil 
an  interrogation  point  in  the  margin. 

"  That  we  may  identity  localities,"  lie  ex 
plained.  "Mr.  Lachance  can  show  us  the 
Old  Agency  House,  and  other  points  of  in 
terest —  and  the  Gillettes  must  be  familiar 
with  most  of  the  places  mentioned  here." 

''  You  always  speak  of  '  the  Gillettes,'  —  as 
if  the  daughter  were  a  secondary  personage. 
She  seems  to  me  to  overshadow  the  gentle 
mother." 

u  It  is  unintentional,  then.  There  was 
never  a  more  devoted  child.  I  got  into 
the  habit  of  savin*'  '  The  Gillettes  '  in  old 

«.  O 

times." 

He  resumed  the  interrupted  passage? :  — 

"  '  Later  in  the  evening,  when  the  moon 
was  shining  orightlv,  and  she  was  on  her  wav 
homo  from  the  Church-house  with  Hast,  she 
saw  a,  sledge  moving  toward  the  northern 
point. ' ' 

At  the  end  of  the  dialogue  that  closed 
the  chapter,  Clara  became  critical. 

"  I  can  see,  already,  how  the  story  will  end. 
That  young  Pronando  will  be  engaged  to 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  43 

Anne.  He  is  bright,  and  will  go  out  into  the 
world  and  grow.  She  is  slow-witted,  and 
will  continue  to  live  on  the  Island,  and  make 
excellent  coffee,  and  translate  Latin  as  con 
scientiously,  but  not  so  creditably,  and  vege 
tate  and  gain  flesh  as  she  gets  older,  until  she 
is  no  better  than  a  cabbage  or  a  Ruta-baga 
turnip.  He  will  either  be  honorable  and 
wretched  in  marrying  her,  or  dishonorable  and 
judicious  and  break  the  engagement.  She 
will  be  the  Island  saint  —  if  he  doesn't  marry 
her  —  settle  that  little  weasel  of  a  sister  and 
her  monkeyfied  brothers  in  life,  and  take 
up  her  abode  in  the  Church-house  with  Miss 
Lois,  who  will  live  to  be  a  hundred." 

"  Bravo  !  "  cried  Emmett.  "  Capital !  As 
good  as  one  of  Bret  Harte's  condensed 
novels  ! " 

"  That  is  my  objection  to  novels,"  con 
tinued  Clara,  complacently.  "  They  are  not 
pictures  of  real  life,  but  machines,  and  the 
actors  are  marionettes.  There  must  be  ad 
ventures,  intrigues,  elopements,  hair-breadth 
escapes,  broken  hearts,  and  ugly  scandals  — 
even  among  decent  people.  Now,  such 
things  don't  occur  in  respectable  and  refined 
families.  But  I  suppose  a  novel  that  de- 


44      i my/  77/7-;  HKST  I.\TK.\TK>.\S  : 

scribed  every-day  life  us  it  is,  and  as  we  know 
it,  would  he  a  stupid  affair." 

While  he  went  on  with  the  next  chapter, 
she  let  her  hands  rest  on  her  work,  and 
watched  some  ohject  upon  the  lake.  Pres 
ently  she  checked  him. 

"  Wait  a  moment — please  !  Why  do  you 
suppose  that  little  yacht  —  the  one  with  the 
red  pennant  • — -has  lain  just  there  ever  since 
we  have  been  here?  Isn't  it  the  one  that 
took  out  the  fishing-party  from  the  hotel  ?  I 
noticed  the  red  streamer  when  you  pointed 
the  boat  out  to  me  from  the  pia/./.a  after 
breakfast/' 

Kmmett  adjusted  his  lield-glass  and  brought 
it  to  bear  upon  the  yacht. 

"What  eyes  and  wits  you  have!  It  is 
the  very  same.  There  is  a  party  of  Chicago 
men  on  board,  bound  to  Carp  River  and  I,es 
Chcnaux  —  they  call  it  "The  Snows."  here 
abouts.  Some  accident  has  happened  to  the 
sails  or  cordage,  or  something"- — speaking 
in  the  deliberate,  disconnected  way  peculiar 
to  one  whose  eyes,  bv  help  of  artificial  agents, 
have  borne  his  thoughts  to  a  remote  point. 

Put  a  spv-Lflass  to  the  eye  of  the  mo>t 
material  of  men,  and  he  leaves  his  body 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  45 

with  you  while  he  goes  forth  with  his 
mind. 

"  The  crew  are  busy  mending  it,"  pursued 
Emmett,  abstractedly.  "  The  yacht  lies  so 
near  land  that  we  can  see  every  face.  This 
is  a  splendid  glass.  Would  you  like  to  tako 
a  peep? '' 

"  They  take  the  mishap  very  coolly," 
observed  Clara,  lapsing  likewise  into  the 
ruminative  in  altering  the  focus  to  suit  her 
vision.  u  The  sailors  may  be  busy,  but  the 
passengers  are  having  a  good  time  with  their 
cigars,  and  — "  stiffening  into  virtuous  se 
verity  —  "  bottles  !  Oh  !  " 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Emmett,  enjoying 
the  change  in  her  visage,  attributing  it,  as  he 
did,  wholly  to  disapprobation  of  the  scene 
lie  had  mischievously  brought  to  her  sight. 
Clara  affected  not  to  hear  the  query,  in  her 
absorption  in  the  vessel  and  occupants. 
Secretlv  she  was  ashamed  of  her  exclamation 
and  its  cause.  Why  should  she  be  startled 
when  a  man  lounging  on  the  guards  turned 
so  as  to  bring  his  features  in  line  with  the 
lens?  She  saw  him  very  plainly,  and  at  her 
leisure,  as  lie  removed  the  white  visor-cap  to 
screen  the  cigar  he  was  lighting.  His  eyes 


46         WITH    THE    BEST    INTENTIONS: 

were  deep-set  .and  dark ;  his  hair  was  less 
gray  than  his  moustache  :  the  face  was  good 
and  kind,  albeit  grave  to  pensiveness  when  at 
rest.  She  almost  believed  that  she  could 
trace  the  scar  that  made  a  diagonal  seam 
across  the  lower  jaw. 

Shaking  off  the  odd  shiver  the  sight  of 
him  and  the  inexplicable  familiarity  she  al 
ready  felt  with  his  personality  gave  her,  she 
said,  indifferently  :  — 

"  There  is  the  officer  who  stood  behind  us 
last  night  while  Mrs.  Dumaresque  was  recit 
ing,  lie  was  hunting  for  her  name  in  the 
register  this  morning.  At  least,  his  linger 
stopped  at  it,  and  he  caught  his  breath  as  if 
surprised." 

Emmett  laughed  again. 

"  What  a  woman  !  How  do  you  know  he 
is  an  officer?  And  why  might  he  not  have 
been  looking  for  the  signature  of  a  sheriffs 
officer,  or  a  creditor,  and  his  sigh  one  of 
relief  at  not  finding  it?  " 

4*  I  heard  his  friends  call  him  Major '' ; 
Clara  picked  up  her  embroidery  and  spoke 
sedately.  "  I  can  tell  you  something  else 
that  may  surprise  you.  He  feels  peculiar 
interest  in  your  fascinating  friend.  Nothing 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  47 

is  more  likely  than  that  she  should  marry 
again.  When  a  widow  lays  by  her  weeds,  she 
must  expect  to  be  regarded  as  a  single  woman." 

Emmett  had  grown  serious. 

"  I  doubt  if  poor  Karen  would  care  to 
repeat  an  unfortunate  experiment.  Her  mar 
riage  was  not  happy,  or  so  I  have  heard. 
The  fellow  must  have  been  a  thorough 
scamp.  With  all  her  seeming  frivolity,  she 
has  one  of  the  sweetest,  most  generous  tem 
pers  ever  bestowed  upon  a  woman,  and  a 
deep,  warm,  faithful  heart.  I  cannot  imagine 
how  any  one  except  a  brute  could  maltreat  her." 

He  was  gazing  thoughtfully  — perhaps  wist 
fully  —  out  upon  a  smiling  expanse  of  waters. 
The  pretty  yacht,  the  red  pennant  fluttering 
like  a  danger  signal,  rocked  and  swung  in 
the  trough  of  the  swells  now  deepening  into 
shorter  waves. 

"  I  can  never  forget  how  gallantly  she 
stood  by  me  once  or  twice.  I  owe  it  to  her 
influence  with  her  father  that  I  was  not  ex 
pelled  from  college  for  a  mad  prank." 

Clara  looked  surprised  and  hurt. 

"  I  thought  you  had  always  been  steady  ?  " 

"  Never  -unsteady,  perhaps,"  laughing  anew 
at  her  alarmed  tone.  "  But  prankish.  Ask 
Karen  about  some  of  my  escapades." 


48          WITH    THE    JiKST    7.V7V;.V7YO.Vs: 

"As  if  I  would  discuss  your  failing  with 
am*  one  —  much  less  a  stranger !  " 

Kmmett  reached,  over  to  kiss  her  hand. 

••  I. oval  little  \vitV  !  ' 

With  a  very  sober  countenance  Clara 
be^an  to  set  hiil't'  stitches  upon  the  paler 
ground.  Before  a  wife  can  join  heartily  in 
her  lord's  enthusiasm  for  another  woman,  she 
must  he  verv  sure  of  his  fealtv  to  herself  and 
very  much  attached  to  the  person  lauded. 
Clara  was  sure'  of  Kmmett's  love,  hut  thus 
far  she  was  not  evei,  attracted  towards  Mrs. 
Dumaresque.  in  fact,  as  she  stitched  her 
nameless  disquiet  into  the  pale  hull'  fabric, 
she  was  pondering  the  probabilities  that 
Captain  Dumaresoiie  mi«_dit  not  have  been 
whollv  to  blame  for  the  "unfortunate  re 
sult  of  their  union.  Brilliant  women  sel 
dom  make  exemplary  wives.  Above  all.  she 
was  annoyed  at  the  thought  that  the  man 
in  whose  unsmirched  record  she  felt  such 
worthv  pride  had  narrowly  shunned  open 
disgrace,  and  that  through  this  other  woman's 
mediation.  Yet  Mrs.  (lillette  had  called  him 
one  of  her  best  '' bovs  "  !  Had  these  women 
of  the  world  a  different  code  of  ri^ht  and 
ivron<_r  from  hers'/  It  would  lie  absurd  to 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  49 

call  Emmett  to  account,  at  this  late  clay,  for 
college  scrapes,  but  she  did  feel  that  she 
should  not  have  been  kept  in  ignorance  of 
them  so  long.  She  hoped,  in  silent  fervor, 
that  "  Papa  and  Mamma, "  would  never 
hear  of  them. 

"  We  must  not  neglect  Anne  for  a  more 
beautiful  and  bewitching  woman ! "  she 
aroused  herself  to  say,  presently,  in  forced 
playfulness. 

Emmett  cast  a  lingering  look  at  the  little 
craft,  with  slender  scarlet  signal  fluttering 
aloft,  before  he  plunged  in  medias  res  of 
Chapter  V.:- 

"  '  The  atmosphere  in  these  paths  was  so 
hot,  still,  and  aromatic,  that  now  and  then 
Anne  loved  to  go  there  and  steep  herself  in 
it.  She  used  to  tell  Miss  Lois  that  it  made 
her  feel  as  though  she  was  an  Egyptian  prin 
cess  who  had  been  swathed  in  precious  gums 
and  spices  for  a  thousand  years.' ' 

"  That  is  a  faulty  simile,''  interposed 
Clara,  judicially.  "How  can  a  mummy 
feel  anything?  Our  teacher  of  Rhetoric 
used  to  tell  us  to  try  every  metaphor  by 
certain  rules.  Mixed  figures  are  a  fatal  de 
fect  in  style ! " 


50        WITH    TUE    BEST    INTENTION 3 1 


CHAPTER   IV. 

MRS.  GILLETTE  did  not  feel  equal  to  the 
short  voyage  to  St.  Ignace,  being,  a,s  she 
confessed,  an  indifferent  sailor.  And  by 
two  o'clock  P.M.,  at  which  hour  the  steamer 
plying  between  island  and  mainland  left  the 
pier  in  the  lower  town,  the  wind  had  fresh 
ened  into  what  young  Gates,  in  natitieally 
ambitious  phrase,  styled  "a  spanking  bree/e." 

The  original  project  of  partie  carrec  would 
have  fallen  through  even  without  Mrs. 
Gillette's  defection.  Her  daughter  first  re 
quested  the  Morgans'  permission  to  take 
Miss  Manly. 

"Her  mother  is  an  invalid,  and  I  have 
come  to  include  the  child  in  most  of  our 
plans,"  she  stated. 

Next,  she  preferred  petitions  from  Messrs. 
Romeyn  and  Gate's  to  be  admitted  to  the 
party. 

"Surely  you  need  not  ask  ?/.«/"  expostu 
lated  Clara  at  this.  We  are  but  addenda 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  51 

—  self-invited  guests.  Don't  remind  us  of 
that!  Pray  act  as  if  we  were  not  here." 

"  Then  I  must  look  less  happy,"  returned 
Karen,  blithely. 

Her  unfailing  graciousness  was  irresistible. 

o    O 

except  to  jaundiced  prejudice.  Bertie  Gates 
described  her  once  by  saying  that  she  was 
"  the  sort  of  woman  who  thanks  the  man 
who  gives  up  his  seat  to  her  in  a  street-car — 
don't  you  know?  " 

She  was  the  heart  of  the  company  assem 
bled  on  the  forward  deck  as  the  boat  swung 
off  from  the  dock.  But  she  made  the  others 
feel  that  they  were  the  veins  which  fed  the 
heart.  The  role  of  hostess  was  her  birth 
right.  She  gave  and  dispensed  as  freely  and 
constantly  as  heart-beats  throw  the  blood 
into  circulation,  and  with  no  more  effort. 

Organization  in  social  grouping  is  of  minor 
importance  as  compared  with  assimilation. 
Mrs.  Dumaresque  was  mistress  of  the  lesser 
and  greater  arts.  Before  the  prow  had 
ploughed  a  half-mile  furrow,  "  Gem  "  Manly 
(euphemistic  diminutive  for  Jemima)  had 
conveyed  a  message,  modestly  and  well  ex 
pressed,  from  her  mother  to  Mrs.  Morgan, 
to  the  effect  that  their  mothers  were  first- 


o2       WITH   Tin:  j: /•>'/•   I.\TK.\TIO.\S  : 

cousins,  and  that  she — Mrs.  Manly  —  begged 
her  to  disregard  ceremony  and  call  upon  her 
that  evening. 

"She  is  a  prisoner  to  her  sofa,"  said  the 
girl.  "  I  have  never  seen  her  walk  across 
the  room.  She  is  a  famous  genealogist,  and  the 
discover  of  a  new  relative  is  a  boon  to  her." 

Mr.  (iates  promptly  made  talk  with  the 
bride,  apropos  to  the  smallness  of  the  world, 
and  the  laws  of  consanguineous  attraction  ; 
Mr.  Roinevn  listened,  gravely  courteous,  put 
ting  in  a  polished  wedge  of  conversation  when 
he  espied  an  opportunity;  Kmmett,  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  circle,  chatted  with  his  old 
comrade,  each  contributing  his  and  her  quota 
to  the  general  talk. 

Slim,  blue-eyed  (iem  was  just  nineteen,  and 
on  the  verge  of  her  lirst  season.  The  flutter 
of  manner  and  vivacity  of  speeeli  which  Clara 
inclined,  last  night,  to  reprobate  as  ['riskiness 
and  gush,  was,  in  the  light  of  their  newly 
discovered  kinship,  the  tremulous,  eager 
unrest  of  the  butterlly  who  was  a  chrysalid 
an  hour  ago,  as  she  balances  herself  upon  a 
petal-tip  before  launching  forth  into  the  sweet 
wilderness  of  blossom  and  sunlight.  She  was 
a  little  lady,  from  the  crown  of  her  coquettish 


^1    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  53 

sailor-hat  to  the  toe  of  her  trim  boot,  —  a  fact 
Clara  perceived  with  satisfaction. 

Acquaintanceship  ripened  rapidly  into 
friendship.  The  youthful  matron  unbent 
beyond  her  wont  to  meet  the  merry  temper 
of  her  companions.  Even  Mr.  Romeyn  told 
an  anecdote  with  a  laugh  in  it,  while  the 
shuttle-cock  of  repartee  between  Gem  and 
her  palpable  admirer  flew  fast  and  high.  See 
ing  her  husband  glance  over  his  shoulder  in 
amusement  not  far  from  amaze  as  she  recov 
ered  herself  from  a  fit  of  laughter,  Clara 
rallied  her  dignity. 

u  There  is  certainly  intoxication  in  Macki- 
nac  air,  as  Mr.  Morgan  says.  I  am  forget 
ting  that  I  am  the  chaperone  of  the  party." 

Mrs.  Dumaresque  took  her  up  on  the  spot. 

"  My  dear  child,  I  am  here,  and  on  guard ! 
I,  who  was  a  hundred  years  old  Avhen  you 
were  born !  I,  who  was  never  as  young  as 
Gem  here  !  " 

"It  is  an  open  secret  that  to  Mrs.  Duma 
resque  belongs  the  honor  of  the  discovery 
of  the  fountain  of  perpetual  youth,"  Mr.  Ro 
meyn  said,  with  a  bow  as  profound  as  the 
simultaneous  plunge  of  the  steamer  would 
allow. 


54         WITH    THE    BEST    INTENTIONS: 

He  was  habitually  so  unsmiling,  and  looked 
so  dryly  impassive,  that  Clara  already  won 
dered  at  his  close  attendance  upon  the  queen 
of  the  small  court.  Gentlemanly  to  punctili 
ousness,  and  unobtrusive  to  a  degree,  he  yet 
lost  not  a  tone  or  look  of  hers.  As  a  wealthy 
bachelor  of  fine  education  and  breeding,  lie 
was  a  decided  "  eligible  "  in  the  market  mat 
rimonial.  It  was  as  evident  that  he  preferred 
Mrs.  Dumaresque's  society  to  any  other  as 
that  she  vouchsafed  him  no  token  of  signal 
favor.  She  bowed  slightly  and  smilingly, 
now,  and  without  other  recognition  of  the 
compliment,  resumed  her  low-toned  chat  witli 
Mr.  Morgan. 

"  You  are  altogether  right  —  as  usual.  It 
is  nobody's  business.  Even  my  wife  —  while 
she  is  a  model  of  discretion  —  " 

How  she  happened  to  overhear  what  reached 
no  other  ears  than  those-  to  which  it  was  ad 
dressed,  Clara  could  not  tell.  A  new  pain, 
like  a  red-hot  needle,  darted  into  her  heart. 
She  felt  the  blood  rush  tinglingly  to  her 
cheeks,  then  recede  with  impetuosity  that 
left  them  cold  and  numb.  Instinctively,  she 
turned  aside  and  gazed  in  the  opposite  direc 
tion  from  the  speakers. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  55 

The  scene  was  photographed  upon  her  brain 
by  the  flash-light  of  that  crucial  second.  They 
were  passing  the  two  yellow  sand-bars  curving 
about  the  western  cove  of  Round  Island.  The 
waters  were  tumbling  over  them,  like  water- 
babies  tossing  and  kicking,  throwing  up  white 
arms  and  legs  through  the  surf.  From  west 
to  east,  greater  waves  raced  and  chased  and 
leaped  upon  each  other,  gleaming  crest  suc 
ceeding  sun-filled  hollow  in  frantic  frolic. 
Wind-caps  were  the  dancing  plumes  of  a 
numberless  host ;  there  was  not  a  cloud  in 
the  illimitable  blue  overhead,  not  a  shadow 
upon  the  face  of  the  deep. 

Clara  pulled  herself  together  sooner  than  a 
weak  or  more  sensitive  woman  could.  Mrs. 
Dumaresque  had  a  right  to  her  secret.  Em- 
mett  said  truly  that  it  was  nobody  else's  busi 
ness  —  and  there  might  be  circumstances  that 
altered  the  case  even  of  a  man  with  his  wife. 
She  would  never  question  him,  would  prove 
herself  the  model  of  discretion  he  vaunted  her. 

The  steamer  forged  gallantly  ahead  in  the 
teeth  of  the  wind ;  the  noise  of  cleaving  bows 
and  rushing  air  obliged  Emmett  to  raise  his 
voice  again :  — 

"  Yet  you  still  wear  your  wedding-ring  ?  " 


50       v.'rni    TIII-:   /;/•;>  y   I.\TK\TIO\S  : 


"And  ahvays  shall.  (  )nce  married,  always 
married.  Neither  crime,  imr  the  law  that 
condemns  the  c'riinimil,  can  do  awav  with  the 

VdW   ot'    VOWS." 

Kmniett  leaned  over  his  wife's  chair  an  hour 
later,  with  a  smile  half-teasing,  half-anxious. 

"  Have  the  Straits  done  what  the  Atlantic 
and  Knglish  Channel  could  not?"  he  whis 
pered. 

She  shook  her  head  mutelv,  her  answering 
smile  cool.  l>ut  not  ungentle,  and,  accepting 
the  wrap  he  folded  about  her,  leaned  back  ill 
her  chair  with  such  marked  disinclination  to 
conversation  that  .Mrs.  I  )uinares(|Ue  ingen- 
iouslv  averted  scrutiny  and  direct  address 
until  the  voyage  was  ended. 

The  landing  at  St.  Ignace  was  ugly  and 
uninteresting.  The  railway  station  was  hard 
oy:  the  lines  of  ^leamiiiLr  rails  leading  coiin- 
tryward  seemed  to  have  scorched  and  Slack 
ened  as  tliey  ran.  A  single  loii[{.  dustv 
street  lay  along  the  water.  The  air  felt  arid 
and  still  after  the  "spanking  hree/e"  on 
board  the  boat.  The  <juiet  town,  the  old 
clapboarded  cliureh.  and  the  pollarded  ti'ee 
beside  it  appeared  to  shrivel  together  in  the 
idare  of  the  afternoon  sun. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  57 

Clara's  color  was  not  yet  normal  when 
they  pushed  back  the  always-unlocked  door 
and  entered  the  church.  The  pews  were 
straight  and  uncushioned ;  the  tables  to  the 
rig] it  and  left  of  the  altar  were  draped  with 
linen  cloths  ;  red  Holland  shades  were  drawn 
down  over  the  windows.  A  really  fine  paint 
ing  of  St.  Ignatius  hung  above  the  high  altar. 
The  saint  knelt  in  prayer  at  a  table  on  which 
were  breviary,  candle,  and  skull ;  the  upturned 
visage,  chastened  by  prayer  and  fasting,  was 
pure  and  pale. 

Conventional  Clara  did  an  unconventional 
thing  when  the  low-voiced  consultation  as  to 
ways  and  action  ended  in  the  agreement  that 
the  three  men  should  go  in  search  of  a  vehicle 
and  guide,  while  the  ladies  waited  in  the 
church  grounds. 

"  I  should  like  to  stay  here  until  you  come 
back,"  she  said  aside  to  Emmett.  "  It  is 
cooler  and  not  so  glaringly  bright  as  outside. 
Manage  it  so  that  I  can  sit  still  alone  and 
wait." 

It  was  Karen  who  did  the  managing,  and 
so  adroitly  that  there  seemed  to  be  nothing 
singular  in  Mrs.  Morgan's  desire  to  rest  in 
the  shaded  interior  while  the  other  women 


58         WITH    THE    BEST    INTENTIONS  : 

explored  the  church-yard  and  contiguous  re 
gions.  Even  Emmett  saw  naught  amiss. 

"  You  won't  be  lonely  or  nervous,  dar 
ling  ?  "  he  tarried  l>ehind  the  rest  to  say. 

"I  am  never  nervous  —  and  seldom  lonely. 
I  shall  he  entirely  comfortable,  thank  you." 

Not  having  quite  mastered  the  mysteries  of 
the  degrees  of  discretion  possible  to  a  model, 
Emmett  followed  his  friends,  convinced  that 
his  sensible  wife  had  chosen,  as  usual,  the 
better  part.  The  white  sunshine  was  intense 
on  the  water,  and  the  wind  a  bit  stiff  even 
for  a  head  as  steady  as  hers. 

Clara  sat  perfectly  still  for  ten  minutes, 
gazing  at  the  pale,  rapt  face  of  the  kneeling 
saint,  her  palms  pressed  hard  together.  The 
release  from  the  observation  of  stranger  and 
loving  eves  was  like  the  slow  plaving-out  of 

O          »/  1.  ».  ~ 

a  tense  chain.  She  could  not  afford  to  let 
herself  quite  go,  but  she  must  have  time  and 
relief  in  order  to  think  connectedly.  Above 
all  things  else  —  the  conscience  which  was 
her  inflexible  guide  keeping  the  helm  hard 
down — she  would  not  be  unjust,  or  even 
unduly  sensitive.  This  woman,  whose  early 
influence  over  Emmett  might  have  had  noth 
ing  sinister  in  it,  had  a  history  —  which  was, 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  59 

also,  a  mystery,  one  connected  with  her  "  un 
fortunate  "  marriage,  which,  lie  agreed  with 
her,  would  better  remain  unknown,  even  to 
his  wife.  It  was  possible  that  Emmett  would 
revoke  his  decision  so  far  as  to  confide  to  the 
keeper  of  his  every  secret  that  which  con 
cerned  another. 

"  If  not,  — "  it  was  a  stern  whisper  that 
ran  around  the  bare  building,  where  there  was 
nothing  to  muffle  the  sibilations.  "  If  not,  I 
will  trust  him  and  try  not  to  hate  her  —  and 
wait !  " 

She  did  not  add  —  "  and  watch  !  "  But  the 
echoes  meant  it. 

The  pallid  saint,  worn  with  waiting,  and 
haggard  with  watching  against  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil ;  the  cheap  prints  upon 
the  walls ;  the  worn  boards  on  which  worship 
pers  sat  to  hear  and  knelt  to  pray ;  the  tawdry 
touch  imparted  to  the  interior  by  the  glazed 
red  shades  —  she  seemed  to  have  known  them 
a  long  time  when  she  looked  back  in  closing 
the  door. 

Mrs.  Dumaresque  and  Gem  Manly  sat  upon 
the  low  steps  of  the  vestry,  talking  with  the 
Canadian  custodian  of  the  priest's  house. 
Seeing  them  from  the  windows  of  the  adja- 


GO         WITH    THE    BEST    i:\TE.\Tir>XS: 

cent  rectory,  she  had  come  out  to  ot'l'er  the 
hospitality  ol'  the  premises  in  her  master's 
absence.  Neither  Karen  nor  her  chaise  re 
marked  upon  Clara's  prolonged  stay  in  the 
church.  Thev  smiled  welcome  at  her  ap 
proach,  and  introduced  the  pai/Hanm*,  who 
dropped  a  courtesy  and  accosted  her  in  unin 
telligible  patois. 

'••ft'  nc  coinprendx  pas  !  "  l>egan  Mrs.  Mor 
gan,  stiniy. 

"There  is  the  carriage !"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Dumaresque,  joyfully,  rising.  "  We  began 
to  fear  St.  Ignace  was  insufficient  to  our 
demands." 

Kmmett  was  in  the  open  carriage  that 
stopped  at  the  gate.  The  other  men  had 
walked  on  and  would  meet  the  ladies  at  the 
tomb.  The  housekeeper  followed  them  to 
ihe  vehicle  to  offer  a  bouquet  of  sweet-wil 
liams  and  pansies  to  Mrs.  Dumaresque,  who 
thanked  her  in  excellent  French. 

"The  old.  old  story!''  smiled  Kmmett. 
"  Tnivcisal  fascination  !  " 

A  shadow,  like  that  cast  by  a  swallow's 
wing,  llitted  over  Karen's  face.  Clara  noted 
it.  and  the  deprecatory  glance  flashed  at  Km 
mett.  She  was  becoming  suspicious  as  well 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  61 

as  shrewd.  Why  was  her  husband  entreated 
to  withhold  compliments  when  the  belle  ac 
cepted  them  from  everybody  else?  The 
query  lay,  unanswered,  at  the  bottom  of  her 
heart  when  they  alighted  at  the  grave  of 
Father  Marquette. 

Mr.  Romeyn  and  Bertie  Gates  were  al 
ready  within  the  small  enclosure  marking 
the  spot  where  "in  1671,  a  rude  and  un 
shapely  chapel,  its  sides  of  logs,  and  its  roof 
of  bark,"  was  erected  as  "  the  first  sylvan 
shrine  of  Catholicity "  on  the  point  which 
afterward  received  the  name  of  St.  Ignatius. 

The  tomb  was  staringly  new,  the  location 
unpicturesque,  but  all  hearkened  reverently 
to  the  story  of  the  pioneer's  travels  and  labors 
and  suffering,  told  with  quiet  pathos  by  the 
chosen  raconteur  of  the  group.  Of  his  long 
ing,  when  attacked  by  mortal  sickness  among 
the  Illinois  Indians,  "  to  visit  once  more  his 
beloved  mission  at  Mackinac,  and  to  bow  in 
the  chapel  of  St.  Ignatius."  How,  growing 
worse  on  the  canoe-voyage,  he  asked  to  be 
landed  on  an  eminence,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  afterward  named  for  him.  Of  his  ad 
ministration  of  the  Sacrament  to  his  neo 
phytes  with  hands  chilled  by  the  last  agony ; 


6-       WITH   TIIK  ni-;sT 


of  his  lutlv  ejaculation  —  '•  tiuxt  iniiit  anim-i 
mea,  in  vt.'/-f>»  ejux!"  and  the  smile  with  which, 
raising  his  eves  to  some  object  he  appeared 
to  see  alxii'i'  tin1  crnciji.r,  he  expired. 

"  This  was  in  ItiTo.  In  1077,  a  convoy  ot' 
Christian  Indians,  in  thirty  canoes,  brought 
his  bones  to  this  place,  and  buried  them 
under  the  high  altar.  When  the  mission 
was  abandoned  in  17'Hi,  chapel  and  church- 
house:  were  burned.  In  ]s77.  the  founda 
tions  Avert:  discovered  accidentally,  and  fur 
ther  search  revealed  his  j^rave.  I  have  seen 
fragments  of  the  birch-bark  casket,  laver 
after  layer  Allied  together,  and  blackened  by 
fire,  and,  among  other  relies  taken  from  the 
excavation,  a  ring,  marked,  '  I.I  I.  S/  " 

Tiie  driver  of  the  hack  leaned  upon  the 
fence  within  hearing,  and  Karen  turned  to 
him  now. 

"Have  I  told  it  right?  The  story  is  so 
in  te  rest  i  n(_;',  I  should  be  sorry  to  spoil  it." 

The  man.  who  proved  to  be  the  proprietor 
of  "The  (loldeii  Rule  Liverv  Stables,"  had 
an  intelligent  face,  and  entered  into  respect 
ful  talk  Avitli  his  passengers. 

Just  now  the  small  community  was  some- 
Avhat  excited  over  a  queer  stone  brought 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  63 

down,  within  a  few  days,  from  the  hills  back 
of  the  town.  A  citizen  of  St.  Ignace  had 
come  upon  it,  while  clearing  land  overgrown 
with  timber  and  brushwood.  Perhaps  the 
ladies  would  like  to  see  it?  They  could 
drive  by  the  store  of  the  owner  on  their  wav 
to  the  boat. 

The  proprietor  of  the  "  curiosity,"  a  sub 
stantial  shopkeeper,  brought  it  out  to  the 
carriage  at  the  driver's  request.  It  was  so 
covered  with  vines  and  moss,  when  found, 
he  stated,  that  most  people  would  have 
passed  it  without  noticing  it.  The  odd  shape 
caught  his  eye,  and  he  knocked  it  off  the 
boulder,  of  which  it  was  the  crown,  with  his 
axe. 

In  shape  it  was  like  a  blunt  beak  or  head; 
the  material  was  brownish  sandstone  ;  the  let 
tering,  once  deep  and  sharp,  had  been  shal 
lowed  by  frost  and  storm.  At  the  driver's 
suggestion,  the  inscription  was  outlined  with 
chalk,  and  then  he  placed  the  relic  in  Mrs. 
Dumaresque's  hands. 

"A.  I).  MDIX.  B.  Capello.  Gene*!"  she 
read  aloud:  ^  1509  !  Seventeen  years  after 
the  discovery  of  America !  What  does  it 
mean  ?  '' 


64       \\'rni  TIIK   /; /;>•;' 

~  -  I5ill  Stumps.  His  M;irk  !  '  "  quoted  Fm- 
mett,  roguishly,  and,  to  his  wife,  pointlesslv. 

'v  It  is  a  trick,  of  course,"  she  pronounced, 
delinitivelv.  "Anv  other  hypothesis  is  ah- 
surd." 

••  It's  none  of  my  making!"  returned  the 
owner,  doggedly.  "  I  never  thought  of  it  a^ 
anything  wonderful  until  the  priest  happened 
to  see  it." 

"I  ahvavs  prefer  to  helieve  Things"  Karen 
said,  thoughtfully,  when  cross-examination 
failed  to  shake  the  evidence  confirmed  hv  the 
hackman  and  others.  "And  this  is  a  won 
derful  thing.  Wean'  Breath'  ohli^ed  to  vou 
for  letting  us  see  it  "  —giving  it  hack  to  the 
owner.  "  It  has  given  us  something  to  think 
of." 

She  formulated  her  thought  when  they  had 
turned  a  corner,  and  were  on  their  wav  to 
visit  an  Indian  Inirial  mound  newlv  ojtened. 

t%  I  lu-lieve  in   15.  (  'apello.  of  (leiioa  !  " 

"Not  really!"  ejaculated  I'hiiiiiett,  from 
the  fastness  of  his  Hill  Stumps  theorv. 

••I  trill!  The  admission  widens  the  realm 
of  my  imagination.  If  the  characters  were 
Runic,  the  tale  would  he  ea^ilv  read.  Few 
douht  that  Norsemen  visited  America  four 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  65 

hundred  years  before  Columbus  saw  San  Sal 
vador." 

It  was  time  this  folly  was  checked  by  com 
mon  sense  as  personated  by  Mrs.  Emmett 
Morgan. 

"  '  Capello  '  means  '  head '  in  Italian,"  she 
said,  in  serious  tranquillity.  •'  It  is  probable 
that  the  inscription  was  cut  by  some  foreigner, 
perhaps  a  hundred — -perhaps  fifty — years 
ago,  in  jesting  reference  to  the  shape  of  the 
natural  projection  of  the  rock." 

'•  But  the  date  ?  "  urged  Gem. 

"  Was  a  jest,  like  the  rest.  The  whole 
tiling  was  a  hoax  —  a  practical  joke,  that  has 
outlived  the  perpetrator.'' 

"  But  B.  Capello  !  Oh  !  —  I  see  !  with  a 
shriek  of  girlish  laughter.  "  Bi<i  Head!  " 

O  O  ' ' 

Clara  crimsoned  as  the  others  joined  in. 
Mr.  J-Jomeyn  was  on  the  box  with  the  driver, 
and  Bertie  (Jates  had  found  room  for  his 
slight  body  on  the  wide  front  seat  between 
(Jem  and  Mr.  Morgan. 

The  sight  of  the  Indian  mound  averted  a 
verbal  retort  which  might  have  been  less 
temperate  than  good  taste  would  warrant. 

Two  laborers  were  digging  in  the  loose 
earth  of  the  burial  place.  According  to  tra- 


GG 


WITH   THI-:   ;;/•;>•  r  I.\TI-;XTIO\*  : 


ilition,  a  great  battle  was  fought  in  the  vicin 
ity  l»v  1  1  urons  and  (  )tta\\  as  against  their  com 
mon  foes,  the  Inxpiois,  above  two  hundred 
and  lil'tv  years  ago.  Taking  advantage  of  a 
sand  vein  which  made  excavation  easy,  a 
t  ivnrli  was  opened,  and  tin-  slain  inU-rrcd  here. 

The  proprietor  «>f  ilu-  ••  (  inldcn  linle  "  tdd 
tli.1  story  :  — 

"I  have,  myself,  sren  nioi'e  than  tliirty 
skulls,  liii;  and  little,  taken  out.  each  \vitli  a 
hol«-  liehind  the  ear.  That  looks  like  the  nias- 
saere  of  prisoners,  men.  \yonien,  and  children. 

All  stood,  faxing  silently  into  the  pit.  from 
which  every  third  shovelful  of  earth  hrou^ht 
no  a  hone.  The  sand  \vas  oddly  veined  with 
brown-red  st  rata. 

"I  sav  !  "  hlnrted  out  liertie  (iate>,  at 
leilLfth.  "Do  yon  suppose-  the  noble  ?v/? 
man's  dn>t  had  anything1  to  do  with  the  eolor 
—  yi  ni  know  '.'  " 

Uei'ore  the  irresistible  ripple  of  laughter 
{lied  awav,  one  of  the  diggers  picked  up  a 
skull,  and  oiTered  it  for  the  Indies'  inspec 
tion. 

Gem  shrank  back  with  a  little  cry;  Clara 
rlrew  herself  up  haughtily;  Karen  took  the 
emblem  of  mortality  in  her  daintily  gloved 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  67 

hands.     It  was  a  brown  skull  with  two  horrid 
rows  of  double  teeth  all  around. 

"  That  awful  hole  behind  the  ear  is  not 
here,"  said  Mrs.  Dumaresque,  softly.  "  I 
hope  he  met  his  death  in  open  battle.  Men, 
women,  and  children,  'in  one  red  burial 
blent ! '  GOD  help  the  poor  creatures  He  has 
made  I " 


68         WITH     THE    BEST 


CHAPTER    V. 

YKS,  my  dear,  tin,-  most  picturesque  crea 
ture  I  ever  beheld!  Positively,  (Jic  most  pic- 
turesque  !  One  of  the  bright  and  beauteous 

beings  who  are  sent  into  tliis  prosaic  world 
for  the  express  purpose  of  making  pictures 
and  studies  of  themselves  for  the  delight  of 
other  people.  And  so  charmingly  unspoiled, 
so  unconscious  of  the  effects  she.  is  offering 
for  our  admiration  !  " 

Thus  Clara  Morgan's  newly  found  cousin, 
from  the  lounge  on  which  she  reclined  in 
Cleopatra-Skewton  state.  She  was  a  bulky 
Cleopatra — a  Skewton  who  needed  neither 
rouge  nor  rose-colored  curtains  to  heighten 
her  complexion.  Her  cheeks  bloomed  to-dav 
like  the  bowl  of  Mackinac  poppies  upon  the 
stand  at  her  elbow. 

Mrs.  Maidv's  parlor  was  a  corner-room  on 
the  lirst  floor  of  the  hotel.  Her  bed-room 
adjoined  it.  By  seven  o'clock  A.M..  the 
promenaders  began  operations  upon  the  \v- 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE,  69 

randa  outside,  and  kept  it  up  until  midnight. 
Mrs.  Manly's  peculiar  type  of  nervous  dis 
order  did  not  interfere  with  her  enjoyment  of 
social  bustle.  She  said  the  incessant  play  of 
heels  and  toes  upon  the  resounding  boards 
lulled  her  to  sleep  by  reminding  her  of  the 
rain  upon  the  roof.  In  youth  she  had  been 
a  beauty.  Her  face,  but  for  the  high  coloring, 
was  handsome  still.  She  was  kind-hearted; 
she  was  rich ;  she  was  liberal ;  she  had  one 
single  daughter,  and  one  married  in  Chicago ; 
a  son  in  San  Francisco,  and  an  indulgent  hus 
band  in  Grand  Rapids,  making  money  by  the 
hundred  thousand  in  the  furniture  business, 
while  his  family  were  taking  their  costly  ease 
at  watering-places. 

The  doctors  did  not  diagnose  Mrs.  Manly's 
disease  with  definiteness,  for  reasons  best 
known  to  the  profession.  It  had  something 
to  do  with  the  spleen,  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
the  spine,  and  was  mixed  up  with  her  circu 
lation.  She  spoke  of  it  as  her  "  Idiosyncrasy  " ; 
When  she  took  an  airing,  she  was  wheeled  in 
an  invalid  chair  to  her  low-hung,  well-padded 
carriage.  She  ate  what  she  liked,  and  saw 
whom  she  pleased,  and  she  pleased  to  see  so 
many  that  the  corner-room  received  the  pseu- 


70         WITH    THE    11EST    IXTKXTIOXS  : 

(lonvin  of  '•  General  Intelligence  Agency." 
When  not  receiving,  slie  nibbled  voraciously 
at  a  stack  of  novels,  portly,  and  with  plenty 
of  color  in  thrill,  like  hei'M-lf. 

The  cordial  ring  of  hci1  welcome  to  her 
cousin's  child  partially  condoned  to  Clara  for 
its  effusiveness.  Her  phraseology  was  as 
llorid  as  her  complexion,  and  until  Clara  saw 
upon  what  terms  of  affectionate  familiar!  t  v  she 
was  with  "  the  best  people  "  of  all  sections,  she 
was  inclined  to  chide  Fate  for  bringing  the  oc 
cult  relationship  to  light.  It  could  not  have 
remained  unknown  long  after  the  same  roof 
covered  both.  Mrs.  Manlv's  genealogical 
memory  was  a  terror  to  freshly  finished  lir>t 
families:  her  imagination  was  still  more  vig 
orous,  (iiven  tibia,  fibula-,  or  a  vertebral 
joint,  and  she  could  construct  a  skeleton-ped 
igree,  then  endue  it  with  tendons  and  tissues 
warranted  to  tit.  I'nless  imposed  upon,  or 
led  off  upon  a  wrong  scent,  she  leaned  to 
me  rev's  side  in  investigation  and  composition, 
being,  as  I  have  said,  kind  of  heart  and 
benevolent  in  intention.  If  her  auditors  knew 
those  whom  she  held  up  to  be  diamonds  to  be 
Rhine  stones,  they  appreciated  her  loyalty  to 
her  friends,  and  did  not  contradict  her. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  71 

She  lay  among  her  cushions  now,  the  soft 
silk  draperies  of  gown  and  coverlet  falling 
upon  the  floor,  and  expatiated  upon  the  tab 
leau  framed  in  her  window.  It  was  the  fifth 
clay  after  the  Morgans'  arrival,  and  Clara  had 
offered  to  spend  the  hour  immediately  pre 
ceding  luncheon  with  the  invalid.  Her  work- 
bag  and  doyleys  came  with  her. 

The  framed  picture  was  Mrs.  Gillette  in 
her  easy-chair,  and  her  daughter,  who  sat  so 
close  to  her  that  the  low  tone  in  which  she 
read  aloud  did  not  encroach  upon  the  rights 
of  others'  speech,  yet  conveyed  every  word  to 
her  mother's  ear.  The  sweet  old  face  was 
placid  and  attentive ;  the  beautiful  hands 
were  busy  with  ivory  needles  and  Saxony 
wool.  Karen's  wide-brimmed  hat  lay  by  her 
on  the  piazza  floor.  Her  skin  did  not  burn 
or  tan,  and  her  eyes  were  like  an  eagle's  in 
strength.  A  silvery  gray  morning  had  kept 
on  the  veil  usually  cast  smilingly  aside  at 
the  sun's  approach.  The  day  was  still  ;  a 
brooding  calm  that  did  not  threaten;  the  air, 
which  no  degree  of  midsummer  heat  can 
make  enervating,  scarcely  stirred  the  lace 
lappets  of  the  mother's  cap,  and  did  not 
flutter  the  leaves  as  Karen  turned  them. 


72       WITH   TUP:   /;/•>•  r   L\Th\\Tioys  .- 

"A  </i')iri'  picture!"  said  .Mrs.  Manlv  in 
Tap!  appreciation.  "  Exquisite  and  inimita 
ble  !  And  to  think  that  those  valued  friends 
of  your  delightful  husband's  should  be  those 
selected  bv  me  —  and  Providence,  of  course 
—  as  the  guardians  and  exemplars  of  mv 
darling  (_nrl.  niv  wilding  forest-maid  !  She 
fell  passionately,  niadlv  in  love  with  .Mis. 
I)nniares(|ue  at  sijjdit.  I  should  have  left 
Mackinac.  which  agrees  with  me  as  no 
other  place  upon  the  globe's  circumference 
does,  to  save  mv  child,  had  the  object  of 
her  adoration  proved  unworthy,  she  is  such 
a  stanch  friend.  Hut  Kate  is  ever  kind  to 
me.  Kxcept.  perhaps,  in  the  matter  of  mv 
Idiosyncrasy,  which  I  accept  as  an  Inevita 
ble,  the  shadow  that  throws  my  blessings 
into  stronger  relief." 

With  all  her  absurdities,  she  was  a  Ljood 
woman  whose  patience  approximated  hero 
ism.  The  perception  ot  this  mellowed  what 
would  have  been  genteel  aerimonv  in  Clara's 
tone. 

••  Have  you  known  Mrs.  (iillette  and  Mrs. 
1  himaivsque  loiio-'/  " 

"\e\er  laid  eyes  upon  them  until  this 
summer,  mv  dear,  invatlv  to  mv  reinvt  and 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  73 

loss.  My  friend  Mrs.  Norris,  who  was  here 
earlier  in  the  season  —  such  a  queenly 
woman  —  introduced  them  to  me  as  her  dear 
and  cherished  friends.  They  travelled  on 
the  Continent  together  for  six  months  two 
years  ago,  and  have  been  intimate  ever 
since." 

"  Was   Captain  Dumaresque  with  them  ?  " 

"'  My  child,  no  !  lie  had  been  dead  for 
years.  He  lived  only  a  few  months  after 
their  marriage  —  sweet,  suffering  angel  I  It 
is  well  her  mother  is  wealthy,  for  army  pen 
sions  are  disgracefully  small,  and  she  was 
born  to  'walk  in  silk  attire.'  Nothing  of 
the  calico-and-clieese-cloth.  comeliness  about 
Tier!" 

"Since  she  is  so  charming  and  still  young, 
she  is  tolerably  sure  to  marry  again.  She 
has  discarded  her  weeds,  too.  That  looks 
as  if  she  were  not  averse  to  proposals." 

"My  love!  she  was  romantically  attached 
to  her  soldier-lover!  With  that  heart  and 
fervid  temperament,  how  could  it  be  other 
wise?  And  the  army  such  a  temptation  to 
an  imaginative  girl!  lie  was  an  Adonis,  too, 
I've  heard.  I  couldn't  resist  the  temptation 
to  say  to  Mr.  Komeyn  the  first  day  that  Cap* 


74       WITH   THE  r,E*r  IXTESTH)**  : 

tiiin  and  Mrs.  Dale  culled  upon  mr,  '  What 
;ui  Irresistible  the  uniform  makes  of  a  man  ! ' 
That  lover's  impassiveness  tries  mv  Mini. 
Rich,  independent,  travelled,  well-born,  and 
well-educated,  he  lias  no  right  to  be  single  at 
thirty-eight.  1  wish  I  had  known  then  thai 
Mrs.  Dumaresqtie's  lirst  was  in  the  annv. 
I  could  have  barbed  the  lance  more  cun 
ningly." 

'•  Voti  have  heard  it  since,  then  ?  " 
''In  a  singular,  a  m.ist  fortuitous  way. 
mv  dear  girl!  M  \"  little  (iem —  alwavs 
hovei'insjf  around  her  idol,  like  a  humming 
bird  around  a  statelv  rose-bush  —  recollected 
when  the  partx  broke  up  the  ni;_dit  of  youi1 
liist  appeiiram-e  amoiiLj  us,  that  she  had  Mrs. 
Dumaresijue's  fan  on  her  arm,  and  ran  up 
to  her  room  to  restore  it.  The  halls  were 
iioisv  with  people  n'oi:ii^  back  and  forth,  and 
!:  r  lirst  modest  tap  was  unheard.  While 
she  waited  outside,  she  heard,  through  the 
transom.  Mrs.  (iillette.  who  v/as  moving 
about  the  room,  sav.  "You  \\'ei'e  not  ijuite 
voiirself  this  evening,  dear,'  and  the  poor 
voung  widow  answered,  "It  was  the  sight  of 
Captain  Dale's  uniform,  I  think.  Mamma!'' 
At  that,  (iem,  conscience-smitten  at  her  in- 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  75 

voluntary  eaves-dropping,  knocked  again,  and 
this  time  loudly  enough  to  arrest  attention. 
Down  she  comes  to  me  in  tears  of  sympa 
thy  for  her  darling's  grief,  and  distress  lest 
she  had  been  dishonorable.  I  understood 
at  once  that  Jtc  had  been  a  Captain  in  the 
army.  I  comprehended,  too,  how  she  had 
withstood  Mr.  Romeyn's  money  and  devo 
tion  and  family,  he  not  having  an  atom  of 
dash  about  him,  not  to  mention  that  the  blue 
coat,  brass  buttons,  and  shoulder-straps  go  a 
long  way,  even  with  sensible  people." 

Mrs.  Dumaresque  did  not  look  the  dis 
consolate  widow  that  afternoon,  as  she 
stepped  into  the  trim  boat  engaged  for  a  row 
around  the  Island  by  what  naughty  Gem 
had,  in  her  talk  with  Karen  and  Clara, 
dubbed,  u  The  Ubiquities  "  —  Messrs.  Ro- 
meyn  and  Gates. 

The  latter,  a  rich  man's  only  heir,  was 
profuse  in  costumes.  lie  appeared  to-day 
in  a  striped  blue-and-white  silk  shirt,  girt 
about  the  waist  with  a  scarlet  scarf,  white 
trowsers  of  naval  cut,  that  sloped  nattily  over 
the  instep  of  canvas  shoes  with  rubber  soles. 
His  cap  matched  his  shirt,  and  his  fair  skin, 
through  much  out-door  life,  was  rapidly 


<b  117777    777 /•;    /;/->T    I.\TI-;\TIO.\S  : 

achieving  a  perfect  match  for  his  scarf.  His 
teeth  AVI -re  even,  and  startlingly  white  when 
lie  smiled,  }>v  contrast  with  his  sanguine 
complexion.  His  eyes  were  blue,  his  close 
curls  almost  flaxen.  His  laugh  was  a  bub 
bling  run  of  mirth,  and  irresistibly  conta 
gious:  his  talk  and  manner  proclaimed  him 
to  be  an  Aiiglomaniac  of  a  pronounced  but 
innocuous  type.  He  had  a  cleft  chin,  and 
when  he  chose  a  peculiarly  ingenuous  and 
engaging  expression,  —  "  llaphaelesque  and 
cherubic  !  "  Mrs.  Manly  al'firmed. 

Mi-.  Romeyn,  in  a  i-ou^h  tweed  suit,  with 
no  nautical  pretence  about  it.  had  a  satur 
nine  cast  of  visage  beside  the  red-a nd-white 
rlierub.  He  had  been  Bertie  (iates's  guar 
dian  for  the  live  years  directly  antedating 
his  niajoritv.  It  s]>oke  \\'ell  for  botli  that 
thev  were  still  fast  friends. 

Kmmett  was  the  handsomest  of  the  three 
men,  in  his  well-appointed  vachtinLT  suit  of 
gray,  the  collar  turned  over  a  blue,  cravat. 
Mrs.  Dumaresque  sat  in  the  bows:  Mrs. 
Morgan  in  the  stern:  (Jem.  upon  the  bench 
witli  l>ertie,  pulled,  with  her  supple  wrist 
and  embrowned  hands,  as  good  an  oar  a3 
he. 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  77 

"  And,  in  my  prime,  I  was  stroke-oar  of 
the  'Varsity  crew,"  he  said,  sighingly. 

"  I  thought  the  lightest  weight  was  always 
coxswain,"  retorted  Gem,  quietly. 

Bertie  laughed,  and  in  so  doing,  looked  so 
infantile  as  to  disarm  persecution. 

"  I  say,"  he  drawled,  her  remark  rolling 
from  his  harmless  vanity  as  the  water  from  the 
polished  shaft  of  his  oar,  "  why  don't  you 
take  boxing  lessons  ?  I  know  a  jolly  Boss- 
ton  gyurl  who  is  a  ca-apital  boxer  —  don't 
you  know  ?  Wrists  no  bigger  than  yours, 
you  know,  —  all  Damascus  steel,  covered 
with  satin,  for  looks'  sake,  you  know.  Nice 
shade  of  satin,  too,  be  Ja-awve  !  Well,  she 
met  a  tra-amp,  one  morning.  Bosston  gyurls 
given  to  long  walks,  you  know  —  fresh-air 
gymnastics,  and  all  that  —  don't  you  know  ? 
Fellow  offered  to  see  her  home.  Awfully 
lonely  la-ane.  She  ordered  the  brute  to  get 
out  of  the  road,  you  know,  and  when  he 
swore  at  her,  she  let  fly  straight  from  the 
shoulder,  —  caught  him  a  clip  right  batik  of 
his  ear;  and  dropped  him,  be  Ja-awve  !  " 

"  Killed  him  ?  "  asked  Gem,  interested,  but 
not  shocked. 

"  No-o !    but  knocked    him    so   far    out  of 


7S  WITH    THE   7>' A'S'r   7.V77v\V770.V>': 

ti-inif  tliat  slu-  tied  his  ha-ands  and  feet  with 
her    waist- ribbon,    in    awfullv   liard    knots  — 
don't  you  know  7  and  left   him  to   recover  at 
his  leisure." 

kt  A  (Jrand  Rapids  gyurl  who  had  taken 
boxing  lessons  would  have  rolled  him  into 
a  ditch,  and  put  a  big  stone  on  him  —  don't 
you  know?"  rejoined  (Jem,  in  audacious 
travesty  of  his  manner  and  accent.  "  She 
wouldn't  have  wasted  a  sash-ribbon  upon  him. 
I  suppose  your  liosstoii  gvurl  wouldn't  miss 
the  chance  of  setting  a  touch  of  ;esthetie 
'  culutah  '  upon  the  feat  —  vou  know." 

••  Mrs.  Morgan  !  "  said  Karen,  from  her  end 
of  the  boat.  "What  do  vou  consider  the 
most  reasonable  explanation  of  the  color  of 
Niagara  and  the  upper  lakes?" 

She  never  checked  her  ^iddy  charge  openlv, 
yet  invariably  interposed  a  tactful  diversion 
of  ideas  and  topics  at  the  critical  moment 
when  girlish  spirits  templed  (Jem  to  indiscre 
tion. 

"  Niagara  gives  the  key-note."  she  resumed. 
contemplatively,  when  Clara  had  offered  the 
hypotheses  laid  down  in  school-books,  and 
the  others  had  discussed  them.  "  Kadi  lake- 
takes  tip  the  theme,  witli  variations  of  its 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  79 

own.  There  is  a  series  of  chromatic  scales 
between  us  and  the  shore." 

The  simile  was  apt.  The  sun,  breaking 
through  the  silvery  vapors,  glanced  aslant 
upon  pebbly  shoals  and  shingly  bottom.  The 
rising  wind  whipped  into  foamy  fringe  the 
edges  of  the  waves  running  up  the  bank. 
Shaded  bands  of  emerald  were  lightest  above 
the  shallows,  most  vivid  upon  the  ridges  that, 
chasing  one  another  at  the  sides  and  behind 
the  boat,  stretched  out  to  sea,  deepening  into 
berylline  belts  where  cloud  shadows  fell. 
The  precipitous  heights  were  faced  with 
pointed  hemlocks,  straining  heavenward  in 
serried  masses,  peak  above  peak.  Upon  the 
summits  the  rounded  heads  of  the  contented 
white  cedars  were  interspersed  and  backed 
by  the  red  roofs  of  summer  cottages ;  from 
the  gable  of  one,  a  flag  showed  pale  stars 
and  ruddy  stripes,  fitfully.  In  the  face  of  a 
sheer  cliff  that  lifted  a  bald  forehead  above 
blackish-green  spires  of  hemlock  and  balsam, 
yawned  a  huge  mouth. 

"  The  Devil's  Kitchen —  don't  you  know?  " 
Bertie  said,  agreeably,  to  Mrs.  Morgan. 
"  Queer  thing  ha-appened  there,  the  other 
day.  Party  of  three  fellows  of  us  landed 


SO        ir/77/  '/•///•;  ;;/•;> r  i. \TL\\  n  ( >.\  *: 

and  cli-imbed  up  the  ladder,  you.  know. 
And  in  what  you  might  call  the  pla-ate- 
wanner,  don't  you  know,  AVC  found  a  vi>it- 
ing-card.  Cincinnati  fellow's  name  engraved 
on  it,  you  know,  and  on  the  buck  in  pen 
cil:  'T<>  7//x  Snlti.nir  Majftty.  C<tUc<l  to 
pa//  mi]  rt'tju'i'tx.  Surry  to  fm<!  you  nut.  $e<' 
you  hit >'/•.'  Awfully  droll!  wasn't  it?" 

He  laughed  his  happy  laugh,  and  sliowed 
his  dazzling  teeth  as  artlessly  as  if  (Jem  were, 
his  interlocutor. 

Clara's  semi-smile  was  icy.  Had  he  licrii 
conscious  of  possible  offence,  he  mi^ht  have 
likened  it  to  sherbet  over-frozen.  (Jem 
laughed  a  rin^in^  peal. 

"Not  tliat  I  think  it  wittv  in  the  iri'e\-ei-- 
ent  Cincinnati  man,  you  know,  or  that  I  am 
not  shocked  at  vour  telling  the  storv.  I>ut 
a  very  little  upsets  one's  gravity  when  she 
is  boating.  I  am  us  light-headed  as  a  cork." 

••  Light-hearted,  you  mean,  dear,"  said 
Karen,  kindly.  "After  a  certain  age,  one 
ceases  to  sneer  at  the  blessedness  of  the  time 
when  a  straw  tickles,  and  a  rattle  pleases. 
It  is  the  old  storv  of  the  Sibvl  leaves.  The 
price  of  pure,  innocent  pleasure  increases 
frightfully  after  one  passes  thirty/' 


A   MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  81 

"  Is  hearsay  evidence  admissible  ?  " 
Mr.  Ronieyn  turned  his  head,  and  lifted 
his  hat  in  saying  it.  Mrs.  Dumaresque 
seemed  unaware  that  a  compliment  was  im 
plied.  She  looked  past  them  all  to  the 
watery  horizon. 

"'  I  have  a  right  to  speak,"  she  said,  slowly. 
"  I  was  thirty-four  years  old  yesterday." 


WITH  Tin-:  /;/-;>T 


CHAPTER    VI. 

NIGH  forty  years  have  passed  away, 
The  sailors  on  the  Island  say, 

Sine.'  the  wreck  of  tin-  Julia  Dean. 
Caught  near  the  land  some  miles  below, 
She  foundered  in  the  fiercest  blow 

The  Straits  have  ever  seen. 

A  howling  wind,  a  clouded  sky, 
A  shallow  sea,  waves  running  high, 

With  Island  on  the  lee,  — 
This  briefly  is  the  tale  they  fell; 
The  rivw  and  captain  labored  well, 

But  could  not  set  her  free, 


In  summer  days  the  south  winds  blow, 
And  wave  and  ripple  come  and  go, 

Lapping  her  rugged  keel  ; 
As  if  in  sorrow  for  th"ir  rage. 
They  seek  all  vainlv  to  assuage 

The  old  ship  :\>r  its  ill. 

All  summer  long  the  wild  birds  sing, 
As  'neath  the  wave  they  dip  their  wing, 
And  shining  plumage  preen. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  83 

Above  the  cliff  the  pine-trees  bend, 
And  their  sweet  odors  seaward  send, 
Over  the  Julia  Dean. 

Sweet  requiem  this,  of  Island  green, 
Meet  requiem  for  the  Julia  Dean, 

Down  by  the  circling  shore. 
Winds  and  waves  forever  heard, 
Murmuring  trees  and  song  of  bird 

Blending  forevermore.1 

Karen  Dumaresque  recited  the  simple  lines 
in  tones  that  took  their  murmurous  pathos 
from  the  wind  in  the  balsam  forest  crowding 
down  the  steep  to  the  loose  sand  and  drift  in 
which  the  skeleton  of  the  wreck  was  em 
bedded.  Her  ribs,  gaunt  and  gray,  lay  half 
in,  half  out,  of  the  water.  Great  bolts  of  iron 
rusted  in  her  joints ;  tongues  of  foam  lazily 
licked  the  bones  of  the  dead  vessel.  As  the 
boat  approached,  two  crows  flew  from  a 
projecting  timber,  cawing  hoarsely.  The 
ceaseless  surge  of  the  breeze  in  the  ever 
greens  had  responded  for  fifty  years  to  the 
purr  and  lap  of  the  billow. 

Beaching  the  boat  a  rod  or  so  away,  the 
party  had  landed  for  closer  inspection. 

"  I  came  alone  at    my  first   visit,"    Karen 

1  By  Major  D.  W.  Whittle,  1887. 


84         WITH    THE    VEST    I\TH.\TIO.\S  : 

said,  strolling  up  to  the  water's  edge; 
'"  Leaving  my  mother  in  the  carriage  when 
the  road  gave  out,  I  followed  the  crookedest, 
steepest  little1  trail  von  ever  saw,  down  the 
bank.  The  crows  were  here  then,  too. 
They  must  have  a  nest  near  liy.  The  day 
was  fresh  and  sweet,  the  water  heaving  ever 
so  little.  That  morning  Mrs.  Ilanlon  had 
told  me  the  story  of  the  wreek,  and  given 
me  a  copy  of  the  verses/' 

It  transpired  so  naturally  here,  as  in  other 
circumstances  which  had  come  up  within 
the  past  few  days,  that  the  brilliant  widow 
chanced  (so  Clara  stated  it  to  herself)  to  he- 
better  versed  in  local  history  than  the  others. 
that  even  her  critic  could  not  accuse  her  of 
forecasting  the  scene.  Not  one  of  the  rest 
had  ever  heard  of  the  Julia  Dean  until  t hex- 
rounded  the  point  and  saw  the  stranded  tim 
bers.  Inquiries,  more  or  less  pressing,  drew 
forth  the  story  and  the  recitation  of  the  poem. 

fiem  and  Bertie  picked  their  way  from 
beam  to  cross-piece  as  far  as  they  could  go  : 
Emmett  was  by  his  wife  on  the  beach  ;  Mr. 
Komeyn  threw  a  U>at-<'loak  over  a  heap  of 
debris  to  make  a  seat  for  Mrs.  Dumaresque. 
Unwillingly,  Clara  recalled  Mrs.  Manly's 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  85 

eulogium :  "  The  most  picturesque  creature 
I  ever  beheld !  "  If  she  could  persuade  her 
self  that  this  picture-making  was  stagey 
attitudinizing,  she  could  despise,  and  there 
fore  cease  to  dread  her.  Emmett  took  his 
wife's  hand,  and  would  have  laid  it  gently 
within  his  arm  in  sympathy  with  the  emotions 
which  he  believed  were  stirred  by  the  scene 
and  story.  She  drew  away,  more  crossly 
than  coyly.  Several  times,  of  late,  he  had 
been  conscious,  spiritually,  of  such  vague 
discomfort  as  the  man  feels  who,  walking 
through  forest  paths,  brushes  blindly  at  in 
visible  gossamer  tangles  upon  his  eye-lashes. 
This  was  an  overt  rebuff,  and  the  pair  of 
rattles,  poising  themselves  upon  the  sodden 
timbers,  sa\v  it.  They  looked  away,  good 
naturedly,  without  change  of  countenance, 
l)ii t  the  coincidence  nettled  him.  Obeying 
an  indignant  impulse,  he  walked  deliberately 
across  to  Mrs.  Dumaresque,  leaving  Clara 
alone.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation,  the 
deserted  wife  stepped  lightly  over  sand,  drift, 
and  wreck,  and,  joining  the  young  couple, 
fell  into  their  talk  of  marine  disasters. 

"  Miss  Woolson  says    in    Anne,  that  '  the 
long  shore-lines  which  look  harmless  enough, 


8*5          WITH     THE    HKST    I.\TK\TIO.\S . 

yet  hold  in  their  sands  the  bones  of  many  a 
drowned  man.  the  rihs  of  manv  a  vessel.'" 
mused  (iein.  peering  sharply  into  the  sul>- 
merged  sands.  "Here  are  the  wooden  ril>s. 
The  drowned  crew  and  passengers  eannot  In 
far  <.1T." 

"This  young  lady's  taste  has  taken  an 
osseous  turn  since  the  skull-and-cross-bone 
episode  of  onr  St.  Ignace  trip."  drawled 
Uertie.  feeling  meditatively  for  the  mous 
tache  that  never  came.  "She  is  ambitious  to 
atone  for  her  spasm  of  fright  when  the  clayey 
old  party  in  the  hole  did  the  '  Go-up-ha-ald- 
head  '  at  her,  don't  YOU  know?  i  offered  to 
poke  in  the  sand  with  an  oar  upon  the  chance 
of  turning  up  a  loose  tooth,  yon  know,  or  a 
spa-are-rib,  but  she,  won't  let  me." 

"I  am  afraid  we  are  all  in  danger  of  be 
coming  irreverently  familiar  with  such  sub 
jects."  said  Clara.  The  ring  of  her  thinned 
voice  reached  the  trio  on  the  shore.  ••  For 
my  part,  I  am  so  constituted  —  unfortunately, 
perhaps  —  I  have  been  so  educated,  maybe 
iinwiselv.  that  I  recoil  from  all  jests  that 
have  deatli  and  dissolution  as  their  point.  I 
am  aware,"  the  lixed  half-smile  passing  into 
a  faint  laiiLfh,  "that  1  mav  seem  weak  and 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  87 

womanish  to  people  of  strong  minds  and 
more  advanced  ideas.  I  am  injudicious  in 
expressing  such  obsolete  views.'' 

Gem  blushed  so  painfully  as  to  start  the 
tears. 

••Oli,  Cousin  Clara!  you  don't  suppose  we 
meant  anything  like  that  by  our  nonsense  !  " 

"  You  didn't  say  a  word  of  it !  "  Bertie 
flung  himself  into  the  breach.  '•  It  was  all 
my  chaff,  you  know,  Mrs.  Morgan,  and 
uncommonly  bad  form,  as  you  say  —  don't 
you  know  ?  As  Miss  Manly  says,  there  is 
something  in  boating  that  goes  to  the  head 
—  don't  you  know?  and  this  beastly  air  — 
beg  pardon  !  air's  all  right,  you  know,  but 
in  combination  with  my  bra-ains,  don't  you 
know!  there's  a  sort  of  brandy-and-soda  effect, 
be  Ja-a\vve  !  that  plays  the  deuce  —  beg  par 
don,  again,  I  am  sure  !  — 

By  this  time,  everybody  except  Clara  was 
in  a  roar,  and  Bertie's  end  was  gained.  His 
sunburnt  face  was  so  swathed  in  regretful 
confusMtn  that  Mrs.  Dumaresque's  summons 
seemed  opportune. 

"  My  dear  boy !  the  longer  you  talk,  the 
worse  you  make  it.  Perhaps  rowing  will 
draw  the  blood  from  your  head." 


88       ir ITU    v///-;   /;/•>••/•   L\TI-:.\TIO.\S  •. 

Still  laughing,  she  led  the  way  to  the  bout. 

"  If  that  head  were  only  as  sound  and 
steady  as  your  heart  .'  That  would  he  a  coni- 
bination  to  he  proud  of !  " 

Kmmctt  had  his  silent  thought,  ;us  he  took 
up  his  oar. 

••  I  wisli  Clara's  ideas  of  right  and  fitness 
\vereless  rigid.  Karen  would  haye  regulated 
their  reckless  talk  \vithout  wounding  any 
body." 

It  is  both  the  bane  and  blessing  of  love 
that  it  makes  him  who  feels  it  thermometrie. 
Without  meeting  her  husband's  eye.  Clara 
knew  that  a  blur  had  siolen  oyer  the  perfect- 
ness  of  their  affection  and  trust.  Taking  the 
terrible  truth  to  her  heart,  as  even  unimagi 
native  women  will,  instead  of  lighting  awav 
from  it,  she  ascribed  to  it  the  wrong  cause. 
Hitherto,  she  had  consistently 'disapproved  of 
Kinmett's  renewed  intimacy  with  his  former 
crony.  Tried  by  the  standard  held  grimly 
aloft  by  the  inn  of  Lisbon,  New  Jersey,  the 
most  popular  woman  in  ihe  (irand  Hotel  of 
Mackinae  was  theatrical,  scheming,  showy, 
and  only  saved  by  the  accident  of  wealth 
and  breeding  from  Bohemianism.  She  '-took 
up"  with  people  nobody  else  knew,  and 


A   ILIDSVMMEU   EPISODE.  89 

brought  them  out.  She  courted  popularity 
with  the  lowly  as  sedulously  as  with  the 
lofty  :  she  scouted  precedent,  made  rules  for 
herself,  and  cajoled  her  clientele  into  follow 
ing  them.  Her  frank  grace  of  manner,  her 
ready  sympathy,  her  talents,  and  her  tact 
were  a  fearful  array  of  odds  to  her  who  now 
acknowledged  her  as  a  rival  in  her  husband's 

O 

regard. 

She  put  the  fact  baldly  to  herself  —  knew 
that  she  was  justly,  if  bitterly  jealous:  ar 
raigned  judgment  and  pride  to  answer  for 
her  tardy  awakening  to  the  fact.  As  in  a 
miserable  dream,  she  sat  erect,  and  appar 
ently  composed,  looking,  listening,  and  speak 
ing  mechanically  during  the  rest  of  the  sail 
she  would  have  found  enchanting  three  days 
before. 

They  swept  past  the  Manitou  Rock  on 
which,  says  the  legend,  the  Great  Spirit 
alighted  upon  his  visits  to  the  Island;  lay  on 
their  oars,  and  gazed  in  awed  silence  upon 
the  aerial  span  of  stone  through  which,  at 
this  hour,  flowed  a  strong  stream  of  sunshine, 
the  gate  "  arched  by  the  hand  of  GOD  "  in 
the  solid  cliff ;  jested  at  the  extravaganza 
rehearsed  by  Bertie  and  Gem  in  the  shadow 


00  WITH    THE  JiL'ST    /.VVA\V770.V.S: 

of  u  Robinson's  Fully  "  :  the  skv  blue  abova 
them  between  the  curdled  clouds,  the  glitter 
ing,  restless  waters  whispering  and  babbling 
beneath  the  bows,  and  folding  into  sighing 
calm  in  their  wake.  It  was  all  a  delight  less 
farce  to  the  miserable  creature  who  forced 
herself  to  exclaim  and  smile  and  be  social 
with  the  merrv  crew. 

When  the  most  picturesque  fort  in  North 
America  came  in  sight,  binding  the  dark  brows 
of  the  heights  like  a  snowv  iillet,  Fmmett, 
than  whom  no  other  member  of  the  party 
was  more  deceived  bv  her  masterlv  decep 
tion,  leaned  forward  to  address  his  bride. 

u  Clara,  dear  !  this  is  the  finest  view  we 
have  of  Fort  Mackinac.  The  three  block 
houses  were  built  as  earlv  as  17<SI>.  The  fort 
was  finished  in  1783,  twenty  years  after  the 
massacre  at  Fort  Michilimackinack  on  the 
mainland,  near  where  Mackinaw  City  now 
stands. 

Clara  raised  her  cool  green  eyes  to  the  ir 
regular  line  of  wall  overtopped  by  peaceful 
'•  quarters/' 

"Yes?"  she  said,  with  tin'  inanely  inter 
rogative  cadence  which  wet-blankets  the  most 
ardent  enthusiasm. 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  91 

Emmett  pursued  his  uphill  course,  never 
theless. 

"  It  was  built  by  the  British,  and  ceded  to 
the  Americans  after  the  Revolution,  I  think. 
In  1812,  the  British  commander  at  St.  Joseph, 
i>-ettinp-  news  of  the  declaration  of  war  before 

o  o 

the  American  garrison  heard  of  it,  crossed 
over  to  the  Island  with  one  company  of  white 
soldiers  and  one  thousand  Indians.  They 
disembarked  at  British  Landing,  which  we 
passed  awhile  ago,  threw  up  earthworks  at 
what  is  now  known  as  Fort  Holmes,  and  at 
daybreak  summoned  the  garrison  to  assem 
ble  with  the  few  inhabitants  of  the  town  in 
the  Old  Distillery,  the  ruins  of  which  I 
pointed  out  to  you  yesterday,  and  surrender 
to  the  Crown.  If  they  refused,  town  and 
fort  would  be  given  up  to  his  Indians.  The 
commandant  could  do  but  one  thing. 

Clara's  face  was  blandly  impassive ;  hoi- 
eyes  were  as  clear  and  expressionless  as  two 
flat  rounds  of  malachite.  When  the  poor  fel 
low  brought  the  halting  recital  to  a  period, 
she  said  once  more  :  — 

'•Yes'?." 

Good  women  can  be  more  cruel  to  those 
they  love  than  good  men. 


00        ir/'/v/  77/7;  /;/•;> 7'  I.\TK\TIO.\*  : 

of  u  Robinson's  Folly  "  :  the  sky  blue  abova 
them  between  the  curdled  clouds,  the  glitter 
ing,  restless  waters  whispering  and  babbling 
beneath  the  bows,  and  folding  into  sighing 
calm  in  their  wake.  It  was  all  a  delightless 
farce  to  the  miserable  creature  who  forced 
herself  to  exclaim  and  smile  and  be  social 
with  the  merry  crew. 

When  the  most  picturesque  fort  in  Xorth 
America  came  in  sight,  binding  the  dark  brows 
of  the  heights  like  a  snowy  lilh-t,  Kmmett, 
than  whom  no  other  member  of  the  party 
was  more  deceived  by  her  masterly  decep 
tion,  leaned  forward  to  address  his  bride. 

"  Clara,  dear  !  this  is  the  finest  view  we 
have  of  Fort  Mackinac.  The  three  block 
houses  were  built  as  early  as  17*".  The  fort 
was  finished  in  17^:5,  twenty  years  after  the 
massacre  at  Fort  Michilimackinack  on  the 
mainland,  near  where  Mackinaw  City  now 
stands. 

Clara  raised  her  cool  green  eves  to  the  ir 
regular  line  of  wall  overtopped  by  peaceful 
"  quarters." 

"  ^  es  ? "  she  said,  with  the  inanely  inter 
rogative  cadence  which  wet-blankets  the  most 
ardent  enthusiasm. 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  91 

Emmett  pursued  his  uphill  course,  never 
theless. 

'•  It  was  built  by  the  British,  and  ceded  to 
the  Americans  after  the  Revolution,  I  think. 
In  1812,  the  British  commander  at  St.  Joseph, 
getting  news  of  the  declaration  of  war  before 
the  American  garrison  heard  of  it,  crossed 
over  to  the  Island  with  one  company  of  white 
soldiers  and  one  thousand  Indians.  They 
disembarked  at  British  Landing,  which  we 
passed  awhile  ago,  threw  up  earthworks  at 
what  is  now  known  as  Fort  Holmes,  and  at 
daybreak  summoned  the  garrison  to  assem 
ble  with  the  few  inhabitants  of  the  town  in 
the  Old  Distillery,  the  ruins  of  which  I 
pointed  out  to  you  yesterday,  and  surrender 
to  the  Crown.  If  they  refused,  town  and 
fort  would  be  given  up  to  his  Indians.  The 
commandant  could  do  but  one  thing. 

Clara's  face  was  blandly  impassive ;  her 
eyes  were  as  clear  and  expressionless  as  two 
flat  rounds  of  malachite.  When  the  poor  fel 
low  brought  the  halting  recital  to  a  period, 
she  said  once  more  :  — 

"Yes?." 

Good  women  can  be  more  cruel  to  those 
they  love  than  good  men. 


i'2  WITH   THE  P>E*T   IXTKSTIOX*  : 

There  is  a  feline  refinement  of  torture  in 
their  manipulation  of  the  offender  when 
wrong  lias  been  done  to  ]>ride.  Sometimes 
the  vietim  is  played  with  to  his  wounding, 
and  left  alive.  Tin?  scratches  are  only 
scratches,  but  they  are  deep.  The  chiinces 
are  that  the  hurt  one  will  never  complain  of 
them,  yet  the  cicatrice  remains  a  ridge  to 
his  death-dav.  Kmmett  was  straightforward 
in  thought  and  action,  and  generous  of  tem 
per.  If  he  smote  with  his  right  hand,  he 
would  raise  with  his  left  as  soon  as  his  antag 
onist  was  down.  lie  knew  that  he  was 
being  dealt  with  now,  as  never  before,  for 
some  offence1,  time  and  date  unknown,  and 
was  too  much  confounded  to  be  resentful. 
He  had  not  meant  to  be  a  didactic  prig,  but 
felt  in  the  chilling  impartiality  of  that  wide, 
level  ga/.e,  like  one.  and  a  fool  besides. 

"Those  old  block  houses  are  a  sort  of 
three-cornered  frown,"  observed  Mis.  I)u- 
maresipie,  ga/.ing  up  at  them.  "It  would  be 
an  amiable  fortification  but  for  them.  That 
one  to  the  left  is  now  a  paint-shop.  A  tire- 
place  eut.s  off  one  corner,  and  helps  you  to 
picture  the  room  as  it  was  in  those  early  days, 
—  the  guard  grouped  about  the  hearth  on  cold 


A    MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  98 

nights,  or  women  and  children  warming  them 
selves  after  the  midnight  run  throuo'h  the 

*D  O 

snow  at  the  alarm  given  by  the  sentinels  of 
the  approach  of  Indians." 

u  There  is  no  more  dramatic  incident  in 
the  history  of  Mackinac  than  the  erection  of 
Fort  George,  —  now  Fort  Holmes,  —  on  the 
occasion  of  which  you  speak,  Mr.  Morgan," 
said  Mr.  Romeyn's  well-bred  accents. 

Emmett  gave  a  laugh  of  relief. 

"  Story-telling  is  not  my  forte.  If  I  am 
forgiven  this  once,  I  will  leave  the  business, 
hereafter,  to  abler  hands.'' 

His  bow  and  smile  to  Karen  were  a  grace 
ful  retreat  from  a  position  the  one  dearest  to 
him  had  made  disagreeable.  To  Clara,  it 
seemed  an  insult.  Pride  and  precedent  had 
bound  fast  her  mask.  She  advanced  one 
velveted  claw. 

"  You  must  not  be  discouraged  !  You  will 
improve  with  practice  —  and  study  of  the 
best  models !  " 

And  she,  too,  inclined  her  head  toward 
the  handsome  woman  in  the  bows  of  the 
boat. 


WITH    THE    P,EXT    INTENTIONS: 


CHAPTER   VII. 

BERTIE  GATES  walked  up  to  the  hotel  with 
Mrs.  Dumaresque  and  Gem  Manly.  Mr. 
Romeyn  making  circumspect  and  conscien 
tious  talk  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morgan,  some 
yards  in  advance  of  them. 

The  click  of  Clara's  boot-heels  upon  the 
plank  sidewalk,  as  regular  as  clock-beats, 
and  her  trim  figure  and  stately  carriage  were 
the  primal  suggestions  of  what  Bertie  al 
ways  mentioned  in  subsequent  seasons  as 
the  "jolliest  lark  ever  fledged,  don't  you 
know?" 

"  Mrs.  Morgan  tells  me  she  is  extrava 
gantly  fond  of  walking,''  lie  said,  eying  her 
approvingly.  '•  If  I  could  do  any  one  thing 
as  well  as  she  steps  out,  I'd  do  nothing  else 
for  the  rest  of  my  life,  you  know,  except  eat 
ing  and  drinking,  of  course,  you  know/' 

"Not  even  boating?"  asked  Gem. 

''That   exception   goes    without    saying  — 
don't  you  know?     I  suspect  that  Mrs.   Mor- 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  95 

gan  is  not  addicted  in  the  least  to  aquatic 
sports.  She  was  regularly  done  up  by  the 
St.  Ignace  expedition,  and  as  uncomfortable 
to-day  as  a  nineteenth-century  Christian  with 
a  tolerably  well-balanced  head  could  be." 

Mrs.  Dumaresque's  thoughtful  countenance 
cleared  suddenly. 

"Do  you  really  think  that  was  the  mat 
ter?" 

"  I  know  it !  She's  game  —  don't  you 
know?  with  the  will  power  of  a  four-hun 
dred-horse-power  propeller.  But  I  have  had 
personal  intimacy  with  the  symptoms  of  mal 
de  mer.  Until  I  was  eighteen,  it  made  me 
giddy  to  sail  upon  a  chip  in  a  mud-puddle  — 
don't  you  know?  Only  stern  resolution 
overca-ame  the  infirmity.  Ask  Romeyn  how 
I  conducted  my  limp  individua-ality  the  first 
time  we  went  abroa-ad." 

"  Put  it  out  of  your  mind  !  "  advised  Gem. 

"  The  remotest  suggestion  of  the  other  side 

—  even   a   seasick  imagination  —  makes  you 

quite  altogether  too-too  English  —  don't  you 

know?" 

"Poor  girl!"  said  Mrs.  Dumaresque, 
regretfully.  "  How  selfishly  thoughtless  in 
me  not  to  make  inquiry  before  we  arranged 


98        WITH  THK  /;/•>'/"  7.v7'/-;.v7vo.vs  .- 

and  establish  herself  in  a  rocker  by  tin-  win 
dow,  book  in  hand,  and  to  sit  thus,  expectant 
of.  and  prepared  for  a  scene  niatrinional.  for 
half  an  hour,  without  sight  or  sound  of  her 
spouse. 

At  a  short  view,  Kmniett's  delav  was  for 
tunate  for  the  wife  who  considered  herself 
aggrieved.  It  granted  her  season  for  reflec 
tion:  for  the  arrangement  of  evidence  and 
reckoning  of  available  proofs.  As  a  result 
of  twentv  minutes  of  the  hardest  thinking 
she  had  ever  done  —  and  she  was  never 
thoughtless  —  she  got  up,  unbound  her  wealth 
of  duskv  red  hair,  letting  it  fall  down  her 
back:  closed  the  inner  shutters,  propped  her 
feet  upon  a  stool,  and  tilted  her  rocking-chair 
at  an  angle  that  indicated  need  of  and  dis 
position  to  rest.  To  a  man.  the  change  of 
attitude  would  have  meant  nothing  bevond 
this.  In  realitv.  as  the  feminine  reader  will 
comprehend,  it  betokened  a  radical  change 
of  tactics.  When  she  took  her  seat  in  be 
coming  demi-toilette,  he1'  hail1  in  good  con 
versation  order,  the  open  page  symptomatic 
of  collected  thought,  and  a  heart  at  leisure 
from  itself  to  investigate  and  decide.  Mrs. 
Emmett  Morgan  had  designed  arraignment, 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  99 

judgment,  and  sentence  of  her  erring  lord. 
She  would  warn  him,  in  temperate  terms, 
and  not  too  many  of  them,  that  he  was  in 
danger  of  beguilement  at  the  eyes  and  lips 
of  a  plausible  syren  ;  adduce  her  proofs,,  and 
stipulate,  before  condescending  to  condone 
past  transgressions,  that  they  cut  short  a  so 
journ  thickening  with  omens  of  ruin  to  their 
wedded  bliss.  In  fine,  she  meant  to  save 
her  husband  at  all  hazards,  but  by  rational 
methods.  Emmett,  according  to  her  reckon 
ing,  would  ask  a  solution  of  the  lofty  noncha 
lance  she  saw  had  confused  and  disturbed  him. 
The  rest  would  follow  in  good  shape,  order, 
and  time. 

Not  until  she  began  to  test  the  strength  of 
the  shreds  of  proof  she  held  did  she  perceive 
the  folly  of  overt  action.  Again  she  said  to 
her  sensible  self  that  she  must  "  wait."  The 
seducer,  if  left  alone,  would  wax  worse  and 
worse,  and  conviction  be  rendered  easier  and 
certain. 

"  It  passes  my  comprehension  "  —  she  said 
it  almost  audibly,  so  futile  was  the  attempt 
to  follow  the  wicked  windings  of  Circe's  ways 
—  "it  passes  my  comprehension  what  she 
wants  Yvith  them  all!" 


100       WITH    THE    HEST    I.\TE.\TIO.\S  : 

'•Them"  signified  her  Kmmett.  Mr. 
Ilomeyn,  cherubic  Bertie,  hotel  clerks,  and 
waiters,  and  every  other  m;ui  to  whom  Mrs. 
Dumaresque  had  spoken  or  had  smiled  upon 
in  strict  ( 'lara's  sight. 

"I  read  her  correctly  that  first  evening ! 
She  is  an  intriguante^  and  does  her  evil  work 
f>)i  nni'tri'.  Kverv  good,  upright  woman 
should  assist  in  thwarting  her  designs." 

In  the  cunning  begotten  of  her  righteous 
detestation  of  intrigues  and  mano'uvres  of 
whatever  description,  she  laid  her  guileless 
plan  to  disarm  inquirv  and  avert  criticism 
from  the  man  she  would  rescue. 

Honest  Kmmett  walked  ri^lit  into  the  trap. 

Heart  and  conscience  stricken  at  finding 
her  suffering  again  with  what  he  anathe- 
mati/.ed  as  "a  beastly  water-headache,"  he 
repented  utterlv  and  remorseftillv  of  his 
misconstruction  of  her  change:!  behavior  on 
the  voyage  and  homeward  walk. 

••  What  a  brute  a  man  makes  of  himself 
sometimes!"  he  confessed  to  Mrs.  Gillette, 
to  whom  he  stole  awav  for  remedies  when 
Clara,  at  his  praver,  had  lain  down  on  the 
bed  and  promised  to  trv  to  sleep.  ••  I  )o  YOU 
know,  I  reallv  fancied  that  the  darlin<r  yirl 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  101 

was  displeased  with  me  (though  Heaven 
knows  why  she  should  be  !)  her  manner  was 
so  constrained  and  she  grew  so  silent.  And 
—  would  you  believe  it?  —  I  actually  let  her 
go  upstairs  to  her  room,  thinking  that  she 
would  get  over  her  irritation  sooner  if  left  to 
herself." 

Armed  with  phospho-caffeine,  mentholin, 
and  antipyrin,  he  rushed  back  to  his  patient, 
and  would  have  tried  all  three  at  once,  had 
not  she  assured  him  that  his  care  and  petting 
had  made  her  better  already. 

u  All  I  need  now  is  rest,  and  to  have  you 
near  me,"  she  added.  "  If  you  have  nothing 
better  to  do,  would  you  mind  going  on  with 
Anne?  I  cannot  talk  just  now,  but  I  shall 
forget  pain  while  you  read." 

Look  and  accents  were  gentle  and  plead 
ing.  She  was  so  lovely  in  her  lassitude  that 
his  soft  heart  was  full  as  he  drew  up  his 
chair  to  her  side,  and,  holding  her  hand, 
began  Chapter  VII. 

The  air  ilowed  in  life-giving  breaths  be 
tween  the  shutters  he  left  ajar ;  the  bars  of 
light  on  the  carpet  were  changing  from  silver 
to  gold ;  a  tall  spray  of  lilies  in  a  vase  upon 
the  balcony  exhaled  perfumed  sighs.  For 


102        WITH    THE  JiEST 


awhile  Clara  could  only  be  grateful  that  the 
heat  and  aehe  were  gradually  leaving  her 
heart,  congratulate  lierself  upon  the  succe.-s 
of  lier  ruse,  and  renew  the  resolve  to  take 
no'  more  risks  in  a  matter  so  vital  as  her 
lien  upon  the  first  place  in  her  husband's 
thoughts.  Then,  she  became  interested  in 
the  finest  episode  in  the  storv  —  the  Huron'* 
narrow  escape  from  shipwreck. 

"Open  the  blinds,  and  let  us  set1  where  she 
landed,"  said  Clara,  in  her  natural  voice,  as 
the  Stirling  recital  closed  with  the  picture  of 
the  two  old  men  "  running  along  like  school 
boys,  hand-in-hand,"  to  meet  Rast. 

In  her  interest,  she  got  up  and  went  to  the 
window,  leaning  upon  Emmett's  shoulder,  his 
arm  about  her,  while  lie  verified  the  location 
of  the  small  island  opposite,  the  wharf,  and 
the  western  pass  through  which  "  at  four 
o'clock,  the  Huron  came  into  sight,  laboring 
heavily,  fighting  her  way  along  inch  by  inch. 

«.  O  O  *.  O  v 

but  advancing." 

-t  How  much  more  interesting  it  makes  it 
all  !  "  said  the  wife.  "  You  know  that  the 
Old  Agency  House  was  burned  down  some 
years  ago  7  " 

Emmett  drew  her,  unresisting,  to  his  knee. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  103 

"  Yes  ;  and  Pere  Micliaux  was  drawn  from 
life.  His  real  name  was  Andre  De'sire'  Joseph 
Piret.  He  belonged  to  a  noble  Belgian 
family,  was  a  distinguished  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Paris,  and  afterward  a  professor 
there.  He  was  both  physician  and  priest, 
a  man  of  splendid  physique,  courtly  and 
scholarly.  One  wonders  to  find  him  stationed 
over  the  obscure  parishes  of  St.  Ignace  and 
Mackinac.'' 

Her  head  was  upon  his  shoulder ;  while  he 
talked  he  stroked  her  beautiful  hair.  Instead 
of  saying  "  Yes  ?  ''  now,  she  led  him  on. 

"  Is  he  living  ?  '' 

"  No.  He  died  in  1876,  at  seventy.  His 
parishioners  remember  him  affectionately. 
Antoine,  the  little  cook,  was  a  real  person 
age.  And  the  dog-team  !  " 

Both  laughed.  The  reconciliation  was 
complete.  Before  the  process  of  quarelling 
and  making-up  becomes  stale  through  over- 
repetition,  the  effect  is  similar  to  that  pro 
duced  by  a  dose  of  chlorate  of  potassium  — 
swallowing  it  is  not  agreeable,  but  it  leaves 
a  sweet  taste  in  the  mouth. 

They  did  not  go  down  to  dinner,  but  had 
a  dainty  little  repast  served  in  their  room. 


104       WITH    THE    HKST    I.\TK.\TJO.\S: 

Tin1  table  was  set  near  the  balconied  window ; 
Clara,  in  a  wondrous  India-silk  tea-gown  of 
the  dimmest  and  least  definite  Mm-,  with  a 
Montmorenci  fall  of  cream-tinted  lace  d<>\\n 
the  front,  presided ;  the  band  upon  the  gal- 
lerv  over  the  main  entrance  was  plaving  popu 
lar  airs;  the  tumult  of  feet  and  voices  below, 
modified  bv  music  and  distance,  was  not 
discordant.  When  the  trav  was  removed. 
Kmmett,  upon  his  wife's  insistence,  sat  down 
on  ihe  window-sill  with  his  cicrar.  taking  care 
to  blow  Jill  the  smoke  outside,  and  his  back 
against  the  window-casing1,  surveyed  the  satis- 
factorv  interior  of  the  chamber — his  bride 
bcin^-  the  centre-piece. 

••Talk  of  courting-days !  "  he  morali/cd. 
"  One  month  of  marriage  is  worth  ten  years 
of  wooing.  Til!*  is  what  I  call  living  !  " 

An  indiscreet  bride  would  have  improved 
the  open  in  (4'  bv  contrasting  the  solid  cnmtort 
of  the  fete-a-fet?  with  the  ephemeral  delight 
of  association  witli  other  and  speciously  fas 
cinating  women.  Our  Clara  merited  her 
spouse's  encomium,  and  did  not  mar  his 
u  model." 

They  were  still  sitting  thus  at  ten  o'clock. 
when  Mi's.  Dumaresque  tapped  at  the  door 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  105 

to  inquire  after  Mrs.  Morgan's  headache. 
Clara  greeted  her  affably  —  to  do  otherwise 
would  have  been  indiscretion  —  and  pressed 
her  to  take  a  seat. 

"  Thank  you,  but  I  can  only  stay  a  minute. 
Now  that  you  are  quite  comfortable  again, 
may  I  ask  for  your  answer  to  my  impatient 
young  people  ?  Have  they  your  permission 
to  go  on  with  their  arrangements  for  Mon 
day  ?  " 

Clara  looked  bewildered,  and  Emmett  col 
ored  foolishly. 

"I  am  sorry  —  but  she  had  such  a  head 
ache —  and  when  she  was  better  —  I  may  as 
well  out  with  the  truth,  Karen  !  I  have  been 
too  happy  to  think  of  anything  else  !  " 

-  Bravo ! "  Karen's  eyes  sparkled  with 
humor  and  feeling.  "That  is  the  old,  genuine 
Kmmett,  through  and  through!  The  project 
has  assumed  more  definite  proportions  since 
we  spoke  to  you  of  it  this  afternoon.  Mr. 
Romeyn  and  Mr.  Gates  —  Gem's  'Ubiqui 
ties,'  Mrs.  Morgan — invite  you  two  to  a 
tour  on  the  Island  on  next  Monday  — -weather 
and  health  permitting.  They  have  heard  of 
your  fondness  for  walking,  and  propose  to 
explore  Mackinac  on  foot.  Lunch  will  be 


106     WITH   TIIK  j  ;;•;>•;•   IXTE.\TU>S*: 

served  at  some  central  point,  and  carriag,  .; 
will  meet  us  theiv,  should  we  [ret  tired.  >v<>i 

o 

to  he  outdone  by  yon  in  frankness,  Kmniett. 
I  will  say  that  .Mrs.  Mi  Thau's  graceful  walk 
and  line  physique,  suggested  the  expedit  ;<>:, 
to  our  appreciative  Bertie.  And,  as  we  all 
long  for  an  opportunity  to  do  her  especial 
honor,  the  germ  lloweivd  quickly. " 

••  She  consented  verv  prettily,"'  reported 
Karen  to  her  mother.  "She  really  seemed 
gratified,  and  Kmniett  —  dear  old  fellow! 
was  enchanted.  His  wife — unintentionally, 
I  know  — infused  a  x<>i<pi'<m  of  patronage  into 
her  aeeeptanee.  hut  that  is  a  traee  of  provin 
cial  rust  that  will  nib  ni'f  in  time.  The  prov 
inces  are  nothing  if  not  patronizing.  And 
she  has  so  many  admirable  traits,  that  I  am 
glad  Kmniett  has  her.  I  am  —  as  IVi'tie 
would  sav  —  awfully  fond  of  Knimett  Mor 
gan  : " 

She  spoke  abstractedly,  ga/.ing  from  the 
window  upon  islands  that  slept  and  waters 
that  dreamed  in  the  moonlight,  and  remained 
standing  thus  so  long  that  her  mother  spoke 
to  recall  her  thoughts  :  - 

"It  is  growing  cooler  every  hour.  Don't 
stay  too  long  in  that  draught,  dear  !  " 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  107 

"  Draughts  have  no  effect  on  my  tough 
system,"  -  —  leaving  her  outlook,  nevertheless. 

Seating  herself  upon  a  cushion,  she  laid 
her  head  on  her  mother's  knee. 

"  I'm  a-weary,  mither !  Sometimes  I  could 
imagine,  now-a-days,  that  there  is  something 
thunderous  in  the  air.  Not  that  I  believe  in 
presentiments.  I  fancy  the  sight  of  the  pic 
ture  of  domestic  concord  I  happened  upon 
in  the  Morgans'  room  just  now  touched  the 
sore  spot.  It  is  not  only 

'  When  sparrows  build,  and  leaves  break  forth,' 
that 

'  My  old  sorrow  wakes  and  cries.' 

Whatever  comes  —  whatever  was  —  whatever 
may  never  be  again  —  I  have  you !  That 
anchor  holds !  " 


103       WITH    THE    BEfiT    ISTEST1OSS: 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  next  day  was  the  Sabbath. 

The  hotel-hive  awoke  to  humming  life  later 
than  upon  other  days,  but  it  was  quite  as 
lively  after  movement  began.  The  air  was 
cool,  yet  balmy  ;  the  sunshine  rested,  a  visible 
and  ineffable  benediction,  upon  land  and 
lake.  'While  a  vast  majority  of  transient, 
sojourners  upon  the  island  elected  to  look- 
through  Nature  up  to  Nature's  (ion.  or  to  go 
through  the  initial  stages  of  that  hypothetical 
eereinonv.  enough  were  of  a  different  mind 
to  iill  the  little  Episcopal  church  in  the  lo\\cr 
town.  The  ofiicers  from  the  Fort  and  their 
families  were  there,  the  martial  figure  and 
handsome  face  of  Captain  Dale  conspicuous 
among  them.  The  village  choir,  trained  by 
Mrs.  Dale,  and  owing  much  to  the  fine  voices 
of  two  or  three  private  soldiers,  rendered  the 
psalms  and  anthems  crcditablv.  but  not  so 
svell  as  the  impromptu  quartette  seated 
directly  behind  the  Morgans. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  109 

Gem  Manly  sang  a  more  than  passable 
contralto ;  Mr.  Itomeyn's  bass,  although  not 
heavy,  was  correct ;  Bertie  Gates  was  a  tenor, 
his  tuneful  pipe  like  a  lark's  in  clearness  and 
melody.  But  the  sweetest  sound  in  church 
and  upon  Island  that  perfect  Sabbath-day 
was  Karen  Dumaresque's  voice  upraised  in 
the  choral  service. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  those  whom  we, 
reluctantly,  and  for  lack  of  a  better  word, 
designate  as  "  elocutionists "  do  not  as  a 
class,  sing  well,  and  that  many  have  no  ear 
or  liking  for  music.  Karen  sang  as  she  re 
cited  —  with  exquisite  taste,  and  purity  of 
tone,  and,  when  the  theme  required,  some 
times  rising  into  passion  that  bore  the  listener's 
soul  with  her.  People  stopped  singing  to 
hearken ;  a  few  were  rude  enough  to  turn 
their  heads  to  spy  out  the  owner  of  the  splen 
did  organ.  Captain  and  Mrs.  Dale  thanked 
her  in  Clara's  hearing,  after  service,  for  the 
assistance  given  by  her  "  amateurs "  to  the 
regular  choristers. 

The  whole  exhibition,  including  the  public 
acknowledgment  of  a  display  of  private 
talent,  was  to  Mrs.  Morgan's  just  sense  of 
what  became  the  time  and  place,  in  wretched 


110       WITH    THE    VEST    7.VTA\V77OA*S  ; 

taste.  She  had  a  strong,  well-cultivated 
voice,  and,  if  put  upon  her  muscle,  could, 
she  was  positive,  drown  .Mrs.  Dumaresque's 
clean  out  of  hearing.  She  had  not  uttered 
a  note.  This  was  a  house  of  worship,  not  a 
concert-hall.  With  head  up,  and  upper  lip 
contracted,  she  made  her  way  imperiously 
through  the  vestibule,  and  did  not  slacken 
her  pace  until  Bertie  dates,  pulling  and 
glowing,  overtook  them.  The  cherubic  knew 
what  was  due  to  the  day,  and  was  irreproach 
able  in  broadcloth  and  high  silk  hat.  There 
were  gloves  —  a  faultless  lit  —upon  his  hands, 
and  a  natty  cane  in  that  he  carried  to  his 
hat-brim. 

Mrs.  (iillette  wished  to  know  if  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Morgan  would  take  seats  in  her  car 
riage,  Mrs.  Dumaresque  preferring  to  walk. 

Mrs.  Morgan  declined,  with  courteous 
decision.  She,  too,  preferred  walking  :  in 
deed,  she  was  about  to  propose  a  somewhat 
long  detour  in  their  return  to  the  hotel. 
Wheeling  herself  and  escort  about,  she  took 
the  lower  road  leading  along  the  water's 
edge.  They  met  Mrs.  Dumaresque  walking 
with  Mrs.  Ilanlon,  a  Chicago  woman  who  had 
a.  cottage  upon  Mackinac  Island ;  Gem,  talk- 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  Ill 

with  both  ends  of  her  tongue  to  Mr.  Ro- 

o 

meyn  —  and  so  many  other  acquaintances  that 
Clara  gave  a  sigh  of  relief  when  they  reached 
the  quieter  neighborhood  of  the  old  Presby 
terian  church.  It  stands,  empty  and  forlorn, 
by  the  wayside,  a  gaunt,  gray  memorial  of 
times  when  "tail,  spare  men  came  westward 
to  teach  the  Indians,  and  earnest  women, 
with  bright,  steadfast  eyes  and  lathe-like 
forms,  were  their  aiders,  wives,  and  compan 
ions." 

"•  You  recollect  that  Miss  Lois  '  used  to 
open  and  air  it  at  stated  times,  and  occa 
sionally  to  sing,  in  her  thin,  husky  voice,  a 
verse  of  a  hymn '  ? "  said  Emmett,  uncon 
scious  of  a  falling  barometer.  "  That  is  the 
Church-house  on  the  hill.  It  is  now  en 
larged  into  a  hotel.  You  see  it  is  quite 
possible  for  the  steeple  to  'throw  a  slow- 
moving  shadow  across  the  garden,  like  a 
great  sun-dial.'  There  are  the  ruins  of  the 
Old  Agency  House  below  the  Fort  Garden. 
Did  you  know  that  they  call  that  steep  cliff 
the  Tarpeian  Rock  ?  " 

"  My  dear  husband  !  "  Her  way  of  saying 
it  and  her  smile  belonged  to  the  glacial 
period,  and  would  have  enhanced  the  honors 


111!       M77//     THE    I'.EST 


of  a  matron  of  forty  years'  endurance.  - 
"suppose  we  take  a  vacation,  upon  this  day 
of  physical  and  mental  rest,  from  study  of 
the  natural  beauties  and  literature  of  Maek- 
inac  !  We  will  enjoy  them  all  the  more 
to-morrow." 

What  remained  of  Kmmett  after  the 
"crusher"  expostulated  apologetically. 

"  I  thought  you  were  so  much  pleased  with 
Anne  that  these  things  would  interest  you." 

"I  di/i  interested  in  An/it-  and  in  the  scenes 
described  in  it  -  —  »n-  iccek-Jai/f.'  I  do  not  con 
sider  it  a  Sunday  book  !  " 

I  wonder  how  angels,  versed  by  thousands 
of  years'  study  in  human  inconsistency,  regard 
the  cant  of  prevarication  which  saints  use  as 
a  cloak  for  eiiyy.  malice,  wrath,  and  all  un- 
charitableiiess  !  The  meanest  "dodge"  at 
the  command  of  sinful  man  is  the  religious. 
Whether  or  not  the  professing  Christian  who. 
in  a  moment  of  exasperation,  calls  his  Maker 
to  witness  to  the  truth  of  an  intemperate 
assertion,  is  less  guilty  than  the  sinner  to 
whose  mouth  profanity  is  so  common  that  he 
unconsciously  takes  in  vain  the  NAME  whicJi 
is  above  every  other,  is  an  awful  question 
with  which  I  may  not  intermeddle. 


A    MID  SUMMER    EPISODE.  113 

Emmett  did  not  retort.  Nor  did  he  own 
to  himself  that  his  re-enthroned  idol  had 
settled  by  so  much  as  the  fraction  of  an  inch 
toward  the  plane  of  the  every -day  wife,  for 
whom  hourly  allowance  must  be  made  if  one 
would  maintain  a  decent  show  of  conjugal 
amity.  But  the  fact  remained  that  she  had. 

The  northwestern  wind  was  strong  enough 
by  evening  to  sweep  the  piazza  clean  of  the 
hardiest  promenaders.  The  rotunda  was 
full ;  the  fire  in  the  recessed  sitting-room 
opening  out  of  it  was  hedged  about  with 
people  standing  and  sitting ;  the  drawing- 
room  and  the  snug  apartments  devoted  to 
desks  and  letter-writers  were  crowded. 

Mrs.  Manly  was  made  supremely  compla 
cent  by  the  presence  in  her  parlor  of  what 
she  described  as  "  the  choicest  click  of  the 
choice  company  convened  under  the  expan 
sive  roof."  Reclining  in  high  state  upon  the 
sofa  wheeled  diagonally  across  the  end  of  the 
hearth-rug,  she  took  in  at  one  gratified  glance 
Mrs.  Gillette  and  her  daughter,  the  Morgans, 
Captain  and  Mrs.  Dale,  '•  the  Ubiquities," 
Judge  and  Mrs.  Morris,  from  Cirand  Rapids, 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leighton,  of  Chicago, 
whose  summer  home,  u  Cliff  Cottage,"  was 


114     \vini  mi-:  JIKXT   /A'77-,"AT77OA*.s: 

within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  hotel.  Gem, 
modestly  mute  in  the  presence  of  so  many 
older  than  she,  cuddled  upon  a  corner  otto 
man,  her  head  against  the  arm  of  Mrs. 
Dumaresque's  chair.  The  prl  hasked  and 
throve  and  sweetened  in  Karen's  presence  as 
heliotrope  in  tin-  sunshine. 

The  wind  smote  that  corner  of  the  house 
with  a  roar  of  savage  mirth:  the  sun-coal 
lire  puffed  contentedly  and  grew  redder  with 
each  sigh.  The  gas-glare  was  subdued  l>v 
pink  silk  shades.  The  bowl  upon  the  tripod 
at  Mrs.  Manly's  elbow  was  lilled  with  roses, 
damascene  in  odor,  tender  in  color. 

"The  parent-roots  were  brought  bv  the 
Jesuit  fathers  from  France  over  two  hundred 
years  ago."  said  the  hostess,  toving  with  them 
with  fat  hands  as  pink  as  the  petals  and 
laden  with  rings.  "Mrs.  llanlon  brought 
them  to  me  this  afternoon  from  Mrs.  \\'en- 
del's  garden.  I>v  the  wav,  Mrs.  Dumaresque, 
she  raved  over  the  stroll  she  had  with  YOU 
to-dav.  Like  the  rest  of  the  world,  she  linds 
vou  enchanting." 

"Chestnuts!"  drawled  I>ertie  in  a  pre 
tended  aside,  leaning  behind  Karen's  chair 
towards  (rein's  ear. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  115 

The  hostess  took  the  saucy  comment  good 
humoredly. 

"  I  suppose  you  do  get  weary  of  so  much 
repetition  of  that!  Doesn't  it  elate  you  a  bit 
—  as  it  would  us  commoner  clay  ?  Or  have 
you  the  faculty  of  hiding  it  so  well  that  we 
never  suspect  the  flutter  ?  " 

Clara  may  have  heard  in  her  school-days 
of  the  man  who  voted  to  banish  Aristides 
because  he  was  tired  of  hearing  him  called 
"  The  Just."  She  did  not  recall  it  in  this 
connection,  but  she  would  have  sympathized 
with  the  bored  citizen.  She  was  the  only 
person  present  who  did  not  admire  the 
graceful  simplicity  with  which  the  heavy 
adulation  was  put  by. 

u  What  is  the  old  saying  about  beauty 
being  in  the  optics  seeing,  rather  than  in  the 
object  seen?"  smiled  Karen.  "Mrs.  Ilan- 
lon's  enjoyment  of  my  society  was  reflex 
action.  She  is  a  mine  of  romantic  Island- 
lore.  We  walked  and  talked  together  for  an 

o 

hour  or  more,  and  I  felt  at  parting  that  I  had 
tapped  but  one  vein  — 

"  She  charged  me  to  ask  you  for  the  story 
of  the  *  Indian  Maiden  and  her  Soldier- 
Lover,'  "  broke  in  Mrs.  Manly,  effusively. 


110     WITH   TIII-:   /;/•:>'/'   J\TJ-:\TK>.\S : 

"  Could  we  have  ;i  fairer  opportunity  for  it 
than  here  and  now '.'" 

At  tlie  tuninlt  of  entreaty  that  arose. 
Karni  lifted  her  brows  significantly.  Sin- 
knew  instantly  that  she  was  the  vietiin  of 
another  of  the  friendlv  plots  her  idle  ad 
mirers,  on  the  quivive  for  sensational  novelty, 
were  daily  springing  under  her  feet.  She 
almost  heard  the  tone  and  terms  of  Mrs. 
Manlv's  invitation  to  "  drop  in  quietly,  this 
evening,  and  I  will  coax  that  always  amiable 
Mrs.  Dumaresque  to  d<>  something — tell  a 
story,  or  recite,  or  sing,  or  maybe,  all  three." 
The  proposal  had  come  about  a  little  too 
smoothly.  Perhaps  she  did  weary  once  in  a 
good  many  whiles,  of  Hying  continually  in 
the  electric  bla/.e  that  cuts  sharp,  unsparing 
silhouettes  of  the  social  celebrity  whose 
talent  is  the  ability  to  entertain  her  fellows. 
With  all  her  loye  of  action  and  yariety,  the 
companionship  of  her  kind,  and  her  generous 
desire  to  please,  it  would  have  been  strange 
had  she  not  felt  disposed,  sometimes,  to 
resist  the  disposition  of  those  about  her  to 
ring  up  the  curtain  in  and  out  of  season. 

There  was  no  trace  of  ungracious  reluc 
tance  in  her  acceptance  of  the  spray  of  sweet- 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  117 

brier,  produced  by  Mrs.  Manly  as  a  substi 
tute  for  the  myrtle,  to  which  poets  improvised 
and  bards  sang1  in  classic  days.  Judo-e  Mor- 

O  ^  o 

ris  presented  it  with  stately  grace,  receiving 
a  smile  no  younger  man  could  have  won. 

"'  The  ancient  custom  was  to  pass  it  on  — • 
remember  !  "  she  said,  warningly. 

;>  Doesn't  it  remind  you  of  Greek  plays, 
and  Sappho,  and  Corinne  ?  "  whispered  Mrs. 
Manly,  behind  her  fan,  to  Mrs.  Morgan. 

"  It  is,  as  you  say,  intensely  scenic !  "  re 
sponded  Clara  in  a  higher  key. 

But  two  or  three  of  those  nearest  to  her 
heard  the  ill-advised  Skewton-Cleopatra  eu- 
logium  and  the  reply.  All  eyes  were  upon 
her  who,  with  the  poet's  spray  in  her  fingers, 
began  the  tale  as  quietly  as  if  Gem,  or  any 
other  loving  girl,  were  her  solitary  auditor. 

"  You  may  have  noticed  a  small  and  very 
old  house  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  way,  as 
we  went  to  church  to-day;  just  before  we 
reached  the  weather-beaten,  barn-like  1  mild- 
ing  which  was  begun  for  a  hotel  and  never 
finished.  The  cottage  was  built  seventy  years 
or  more  ago  by  a  white  trader  who  married 
a  beautiful  squaw.  She  was  fairer  in  com 
plexion  than  most  Indians,  and  made  him 


118       WITH    THE    BEtiT    L\TE.\TIOXS: 

a  o-ood  wife.  He  was  wealthy  —  for  those 
days  —  by  the  time  their  eldest  daughter, 
Sophie,  was  fourteen.  She  inherited  her 
mother's  beauty,  and  her  father's  intelli 
gence,  and  there  was  no  difference  of  opinion 
between  the  parents  when  the  well-to-do 
trader  determined  to  send  her  away  from 
home  to  be  made  a  lady  of.  He  was  a  shrewd, 
proud  man,  who  loved  his  wife  well  enough, 
but  saw  the  hopelessness  of  trying  to  elevate 
her  above  their  present  station.  The  squaw 
would  never  be  anything  but  a  squaw.  She 
had  not  even  learned  to  speak  Knidish  in  all 
these  years,  and  neve1'  adopted  the  dress  of 
civilized  people.  At  home  she  wore  moccasins, 
jacket,  short  skirt,  and  lep^injjs.  When  she 
went  abroad  she  wrapped  her  blanket  over 
her  head,  as  the  women  of  her  race  had  done 
for  hundreds  of  years.  Perhaps  her  husband 
did  not  care  to  oppose  her  whim  in  this  respect. 
It  mav  have  been  the  one  instance  in  which 
lie  could  not  move  her:  for  she  seems  to  have 
been  a  mild,  docile  creature,  who  let  him  rule 
his  household  as  he  willed. 

"So  Sophie  went  to  school  in  Detroit,  and 
staved  thereuntil  she  was  nineteen  —  for  the 
last  year  as  a  parlor  boarder.  Her  father 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  11 9 

had  relatives  there  —  people  of  wealth  and 
good  social  position.  Mackinac  was  a  long 
Avay  off  then,  and  he  had,  probably,  other  rea 
sons  for  arranging  that  the  girl  should  not 
come  home  in  her  vacations.  At  the  house 
of  one  of  hiskinspeople  she  met  a  young  lieu 
tenant  in  the  regular  army,  who  fell  in  love 
with  her.  He  was  from  the  South,  hand 
some,  chivalric,  and  devoted  to  her.  If  she 
had  not  loved  him  in  return,  tho*e  would  be 
no  story  to  tell  of  them  to-night.  She  con 
fessed  her  attachment,  but  refused  to  give 
him  a  definite  reply  '  until  she  went  home.' 
She  came  back  to  the  Island  and  the  little 
storv-and-a-half  house,  at  the  end  of  the  term. 
He  was  to  follow  her  in  a  week  or  two. 
From  the  window  of  her  bed-room  on  the 
appointed  day  she  watched  the  approach  of 
the  boat  which  brought  him  ;  saw  him  leap 
to  the  pier,  and  take  the  road  to  her  home. 

kw  When  he  knocked  at  the  front  door  she 
sent  her  mother  down  to  open  it. 

"  I  know  just  how  the  Indian  wife  looked, 
—  so  graphic  was  Mrs.  Hanlon's  sketch  of  her. 
Jacket,  leggings,  and  short  skirt  were  of  fine 
black  cloth.  She  was  fastidious  as  to  mate 
rial.  Her  black  hair,  tied  with  ribbons  in  two 


120       WITH     THE    /,'/•> T    /.V77-;.V770.YS  : 

braids,  bringdown  her  buck.  HIT  eyes  were 
dull,  her  manner  <piiet  to  doggedness.  When 
the  visitor,  mistaking  IHT  for  a  servant,  asked 

if  .Miss  \\ were  at  home,  she  Crumbled,  in 

Indian  fashion,  and  pointed  to  the  parlor 
door. 

"  At  this  instant  Sophie  ran  down  stall's. 
I  can  imagine  her,  too,  as  giving  her  lover 
one  hand,  she  held  out  the  other  to  the  patient, 
dumb  woman  beside  her,  and  introduced  — 

••  •  M  v  mother  !  ' 

:>  The  heroim-  !  the  dear,  noble,  grand  crea 
ture!'  .Mrs.  Manly's  ejaculation  was  a  sob. 
••  l>ut  did  she  know  what  she  risked?" 

l>  Slie  knew  so  well  that  when  her  lover, 
rallving  from  the  shock  of  the  meeting,  im 
plored  her  to  become  his  betrothed,  she  let 
him  plead  for  a  long  time  before  she  con 
sented.  He  left  the  Island,  at  the  end  of  a 
week,  to  rejoin  his  regiment,  with  the  prom 
ise  to  return  to  claim  his  bride  the  next  spring. 
For  several  months  they  corresponded  regu 
larly,  as  affianced  lovers. 

""Then- 

She  paused  :  the  hand  holding  the  sweet- 
brier  sprav  sank  to  her  knee- ;  her  eyes  fol 
lowed  it;  her  head  and  voice  were  lowered  : 


A    MIDSUMMEJR    EPISODE.  121 

her  utterance  was  slow,  as  with  repressed 
pain :  — 

"The  story  is  so  common  that  the  sequel 
ought  to  surprise  nobody,  only  love  with  her 
was  so  strong,  and  his  spoken  passion  had 
been  vehement.  His  Southern  kinspeople 
persuaded  and  ridiculed  and  stormed  him  out 
of  4  the  fancy' — -so  it  was  said.  And  there 
was  the  Indian  mother,  yon  know,  lie  gave 
up  his  betrothed,  and  sent  back  her  letters, 
and  wrote  to  her  that  she  must  forgive  and 

O 

forget  him,  as  one  too  weak  and  unworthy  to 
merit  her  regard." 

"  The  beastly  ca-ad  !  "  from  Bertie. 

"  The  villain  !  "  in  Mr.  Leighton's  voice, 
round  and  deep  with  honest  indignation. 

Mrs.  ?danly  tugged  so  violently  and  vainly 
for  her  pocket  handkerchief  that  Gem  silently 
proffered  hers,  and  hid  her  brimming  eyes 
with  her  arched  hand. 

"  He  was  neither,''  said  Mrs.  Dumaresque, 
quietly.  •'  Dispassionately  considered,  he  was 
the  victim  of  circumstances.  She  never  let 
him  be  blamed  in  her  hearing.  If  she  ut 
tered  a  moan,  it  was  upon  her  knees  and 
alone.  l>ut  from  the  day  the  news  came,  the 
maid  forgot  her  ornaments;  the  girl  ceased  to 


12:2      WITH   THE  /;/•;>•  r 


live  for  herself.  She  laid  away  all  the  pretty 
clothes  and  trinkets  bought  with  her  indul 
gent  father's  money  in  Detroit,  and  never 
again  wore  anything  liner  than  a  cotton  print 
or  a  plain  white  gown. 

"  Mrs.  Ilanlon  gave  one  scene  so  vividly 
that  I  seem  to  have  seen  it  myself.  You 
may  not  know  that  she  lived  in  Mackinac 
until  her  marriage?  One  winter  evening 
she  and  Sophie's  little  sister  were  seated  upon 
lo\v  (/rickets  behind  the  stove  in  the  sitting- 
]  oom  of  the  cottage,  dressing  dolls  in  Indian 
costume.  Sophie  in  her  print  gown,  ruf'lles 
of  the  same  material  at  throat  ami  wrists,  was 
reading  aloud  from  TJn-  Saturday  Evening 
I'"*}  to  her  old  father,  wlio  was  now  hoth 
hlind  and  deaf.  (  )n  a  hig  sideboard,  brass- 
plated,  at  the  side  of  the  room,  was  a  trav 
containing  a  pitcher  and  tankards  of  solid  sil 
ver,  shining  bright,  as  were  the  brasses.  The 
Indian  mother  entering,  dressed  as  I  have  de 
scribed.  said  some  gutturals  in  her  husband's 
ea  r.  Sophie  lowering  her  paper  and  looking 
up  while  he  answered  in  the  same  tongue. 
Then  the  squaw  poured  something  —  wine  or 
cider  —  -from  the  pitcher  into  a  tankard,  and 
served  her  lord. 


EPISODE.  123 


"  Sophie's  lungs  were  weak,  and  reading 
aloud  to  a  deaf  man  tired  her  throat  —  and 
then,  too,  some  important  hidden  spring  was 
broken.  Mrs.  Hanlon  was  still  a  child  when 
the  patient  daughter,  one  day,  quilted  the 
needle  carefully  into  the  calico  frock  she  was 
making  for  a  poor  half-breed  child,  and  laid 
herself,  dressed  as  she  was,  upon  the  white 
bed  in  that  small  chamber  from  the  window 
of  which  she  had  seen  her  lover  leap  to  the 
wharf,  and  died  as  she  had  lived,  without  a 
murmur." 

The  rustle  marking  the  letting  out  of  held 

O  O 

breaths  was  checked  as  she  resumed  :  — 

"Mrs.  Hanlon  was  a  married  woman,  and 
on  a  visit  to  her  old  home,  when,  one  sum 
mer  morning,  as  she  stood  upon  the  porch,  a 
middle-aged  officer  turned  the  corner  from 
the  Fort,  and  stopped  at  the  gate. 

"  '  Can  you  tell  me,  Madame,  where  I  may 
find  the  grave  of  Miss  Sophia  B  -  ?'  he 
asked. 

"  She  directed  him  to  the  Catholic  ceme 
tery,  and  where,  about  the  middle  of  it,  he 
would  see  the  headstone  marked  with  the 
girl's  name.  She  recognized  him  at  once, 
although  his  moustache  was  gray,  and  ho 


124     ir/777    '/•///•;    /;/•;>'/'    /.V77;.v7vo.vs: 

wore  a  colonol's  uniform.  Two  hours  late;- 
In-  passed  again.  She  was  behind  the  blinds 
now.  and  did  not  let  him  sec  her.  His  head 
was  IK-MI  :  he  walked  slo\\  1  v,  his  hands  locked 
together  behind  him:  his  c-ves  were  red  and 
swollen  with  weeping. 

"Is  there  no  more  ot  it?  asked  (Jem. 
chagrined,  as  the  narrator  ceased  to  speak. 
Kaivu  patted  the  bonny  head,  smiling1  sadlv. 

"What  more,  could  there  he,  deal'  heart? 
Death  ends  all.  Captain  Dale  mav  have  met. 
t'u-  unhappy  hero  of  mv  true  storv  in  peace 
or  in  battle,  —  for  he  cast  in  his  lot  with  that 
of  his  native  South.  He  was  (Jeneral  - 
oi  the  Con  It-derate  service. 

Captain  Dale  started  to  his  feet. 

"  I  saw  him,  again  and  again  !  I  was 
within  ten  feet  of  him  when  he  surrendered 
his  command  to  (Jrant,  he  said  with  pro 
found  emotion;  "he  was  a  true  man  and  a 
brave  soldier.  Heaven  rest  his  soul  !" 

Before  dropping  the  curtain  upon  this 
chapter.  I  would  win  the  reader  to  look  once 
more  at  the  principal  figure  of  the  group 
clustered  about  the  hospitable  hearth  on  that 
windv  Sundav  night. 

For  I  think,  to  those  of  us  who  h>\vd   her 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  125 

best,  she  never  seemed  exactly  again  as  while 
she  told  the  little  tale,  so  common,  as  she 
had  said,  yet  so  piteously  pathetic.  The 
flushed  air  was  full  of  rose-breath  ;  the  sweet- 
brier  between  her  fingers  drooped  into  spicy 
lanmior  with  the  warmth  of  the  room.  The 

o 

varied,  yet  all-natural  modulations  of  her 
voice  ;  the  womanly  sympathy  of  the  sweet, 
deep  eyes ;  the  modest  queenliness  with 
which  she  sustained  the  honors  we  never 
wearied  of  heaping  upon  her  —  ah!  Memory 
and  I  will  have  parted  company  for  aye 
when  my  heart  ceases  to  soften  and  glow  in 
the  recollection  of  all  this,  and  at  the  name 
and  thought  of  her  who  was,  even  then, 
walking  straight  toward  the  quicksands  ! 


126       WITH     T1IK    ;>' />T 


CHAPTER    IX. 

"AND  this  is  a  battle-ground!"  Gem  said 
it  dissatisfiedly.  u  I  never  saw  one  before." 

u  Happv  child'  '  smiled  Karen.  "  Thev 
are  very  much  like  other  fields,  when  the 
conventional  plough  has  been  over  them  a 
few  times,  -  usually  less  picturesque." 

"Most  common-place  looking  locations  in 
the  world,  don't  you  know?''  Bertie,  leaning 
against  the  looselv  laid  stone  wall  dividing 
the  historic  ground  from  the  road,  caught  at 
the  double  meaning  of  Mrs  Dtimaresque's 
remark,  and  fell  to  moralizing.  "  When,  as 
you  say,  the  <!<'liri*  is  cleared  away,  and  well- 
bred  people  lose  no  time  about  that,  you 
know.  Corpses  and  caissons  and  the  like 
belong  to  the  realistic  school." 

"  We  visited  battle-fields  by  the  do/en 
while  abroad,''  observed  complacent  Clara. 
''Waterloo,  Flodden,  and  Marston  Moor 
among  them.  You  are  quite  correct  in  pro- 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  127 

nouncmg  them  hopelessly  uninteresting  in 
appearance,  Mr.  Gates." 

She  was  looking  well  to-day.  The  walk 
ing  party  given  in  her  honor  was,  thus  far,  a 
pronounced  success.  The  weather  was  per 
fect,  cool  and  clear  without  being  blustering, 
and  a  recent  shower  had  settled  the  dust. 
Their  way  had  lain,  for  the  most  part, 
through  balsamic  woods  inter-threaded  by 
little  paths  and  bridle-roads,  each  turn  re 
vealing  vistas  of  green  shade  shot  by  arrowy 
sun-rays.  The  brighter  foliage  of  the  June- 
berry  and  maple  broke  up  the  sombre  effects 
of  the  darkly  massed  evergreens,  and  in  the 
forest  depths  slender,  supple  birches  stood, 
wraith-like. 

Clara's  love  for  walking  was  more  nearly  a 
passion  than  any  other  of  her  well-regulated 
tastes.  She  had  averred,  as  they  readied  the 
battle-ground,  after  making  the  half-circuit 
of  the  Island,  that  the  further  she  walked 
the  stronger  she  felt. 

"Another  coincidence  —  be  Ja-awve !  "  cried 
ruddy  Bertie,  who  had  previously  noted  that 
his  knickerbockers,  tennis  shirt,  and  cap  were 
precisely  the  same  shade  of  blue  as  Mrs. 
Morgan's  suit  —  "  (and  they  might  just  as 


128      WITH    THE    BEST    INTENTIONS: 

well  have  been  on  swearing  terms  —  don't 
you  know?)  I  got  my  second  wind  an  hour 
ago,  and  am  good  now  for  twenty  miles." 

It  was  diverting  to  witness  his  imperturb- 
altle  elTorts  to  establish  a  footing    of    <rood- 

o  o 

fellowship  with  the  dignified  Lisbon  ian.  He 
shocked  her  twenty  times  a  day,  apologizing 
as  often  when  lie  found  this  out:  she  schooled 
and  tried  to  repress  and  tone  him  down,  civillv 
but  (irmly,  and  he  arose  to  the  surface  after 
each  tap,  fairlv  sinning  with  o-ood  humor,  and 

1    '  *.'  O  O 

capable  of  other  and  more  audacious  offences. 
She  did  not  resent  his  comparison  of  him 
self  to  her,  and  in  phraseology  borrowed  from 
the  ring.  Tie  had  been  especiallv  attentive 
to  her  the  whole  morning,  keeping  close 
beside  her  for  a  mile  at  a  time,  chattering 
like  the  bright  boy  he  was,  and  hearkening 
respectfully  to  all  she  said.  Kmmett  took 
charge  of  (Jem,  and  his  wife's  observation  of 
this  increased  her  content  with  the  dav,  the 
excursion,  and  herself.  She  whispered  con 
fidentially  to  her  inmost  soul  as  liertie  dusted 
a  stone  with  his  handkerchief,  and  .Mr. 
Romeyn  folded  her  shawl  into  a  cushion  to 
soften  the  rugged  seat,  that  the  reputation  of 
belleship  was  easily  attainable,  if  one's  self- 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  1-9 

respect  did  not  hold  her  back  from  entering 
the  lists  —  and  if  the  game  were  worth  the 
candle. 

"  Don't  trouble  yourself,  I  beg ! "  she 
protested,  graciously,  when  Bertie  raised  her 
umbrella  and  held  it  over  her.  '•  I  do  not 
mind  the  sun.  I  never  have  headaches — • 
on  land,"  •  —provoked  to  feel  that  she  blushed. 

If  Gem  had  divined  the  unpleasant  "tang" 
left  upon  her  cousin's  conscience  by  the 
simulation  of  indisposition  on  Saturday  after 
noon,  she  could  not  have  interposed  more  op 
portunely  with  her  remark  upon  battle-fields. 

"Indeed,"  proceeded  Mrs.  Morgan,  uncon 
scious  that  her  neat  nuggets  of  informa 
tion  and  deduction  were  a  more  realistic 
touch  than  the  debris  to  which  Bertie  had 
alluded,  "  I  suppose  it  is  the  same  with 
almost  everything  people  travel  to  see.  Half 
the  interest  we  take  in  such  places  arises 
from  historic  or  romantic  association.  The 
particular  battle  fought  here  took  place  dur 
ing  the  French  and  Indian  War  —  did  it 
not?" 

Her  eye  directed  the  query  to  Mr.  Romeyn, 
and,  with  unfailing  courtesy,  he  hesitated 
before  setting  her  right.  It  is  safe  to  affirm 


l:JO     \vrni    TIIK   /;;•;>"/•   /v/7,-.v:'7o,v.s; 

that  the  jilacid  ca'jerhist  was  the  soli^iy 
member  of  the  group  who  did  not  recall  her 
husband's  ill-starred  historiciu  rt?.<i(/i«.\  and 
her  recept ion  of  it. 

"The  battle  >vas  fought  on  August  4lh. 
1*14,"  beLnn  Mr.  Romevn,  with  becoming 
diffidence.  "  The  isl.ind  was  then  thicklv 
wooded,  }n\t  the  lii^lnvay  was  the  same  we 
see  now.  ''.hi:  Americans  beached  their  boats 
at  British  Landing  —  so-called  from  the  clis- 
einbai'kcttion  uf  the  l-hi^-lish  troops  there  t\\'o 
ve;irs  earlier.  -—  and  marched  ii[)  to  this  point. 
This  open  space,  then  surrounded  on  three 
si'.les  bv  woods,  was  a  cu/-<l>'-Sit'- ;  for  lliei'e 
Vv'as  an  Indian  behind  every  tree.  .Ma]or 
Molnies.  W!K»  had  been  advised  to  wear  plain 
clothes  that  dav,  and  had  answered  that  he 
would  not  skulk  behind  a  citi/cn's  coat,  fell 
a,  the  first  lire.  — -over  there,  —  "  pointing  to 
tiie  ri^'ht.  "He  was  riddled  with  bullets. 
Ills  men  draped  the  l»odv  to  the  fence  and 
covered  it  with  rails  to  prevent  the  savages 
from  finding  and  mutilating  it.  Three  oi'iicers 
were  killed  bv  the  same-  vollev.  The  Amer 
icans  retreated,  with  great,  loss,  to  their  boats." 

"  Were  thev  not  pursued'/" 

u  No  ;   Indians   will   not   light  in   the   open, 


A    MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  131 

even  against  inferior  numbers,  if  they  can 
find  a  cover." 

The  battle-field,  now  an  orchard,  was  thrill- 
in  gly  still.  Each  trunk  was  the  centre  of  a 
round  of  well-defined  shade ;  the  noon-day 
sun  burnished  the  broad  blades  of  meadow- 
grass,  and  drew  upright  lines  along  the  tree- 
boles  that  had  sheltered  the  savages  that 
bloody  day.  Two  cows  ruminated  upon 
their  noon-day  meal  in  the  shadow  of  pali 
sades  a  hundred  years  old.  A  superannu 
ated  horse  cropped  the  turf  in  a  sunny 
corner. 

"Oh,  dear!"  The  long-drawn  sigh  was 
Gem's.  "  It  is  such  a  nice,  peaceful  world, 
if  people  would  only  let  it  alone  ! " 

"  But  they  won't,  you  know !  "  Bertie, 
seated  at  Clara's  feet,  his  blue-stockinged  legs 
crossed  at  the  ankles,  plucked  up  grasses 
and  bit  them  while  he  talked.  "  And,  be 
Ja-awve  !  when  one  thinks  of  Indian  warfare, 
and  how  their  methods  are  the  same  now  as 
then,  you  know,  there  does  seem  to  be  a 
divine  necessity  for  blood-letting  upon  a 
large  scale,  upon  occasion,  don't  you  know, 
if  you  might  only  choose  your  ground  and 
subjects,  you  know." 


132     WITH  Tin-:  /;/•;>•  y  I\TKNTHL\S  .- 

Thus  began  an  argument  on  the  Indian 
question  between  him  and  Mrs.  Morgan, 
who  had  lately  read  A  Century  of  Dishonor, 
which  lasted  until  they  had  left  the  public 
road  for  a  tortuous  by-way  dividing  the  heart 
of  the  virgin  forest.  It  was  a  funny  debate. 
Clara,  erect  as  the  aborigines  whom  she 
championed,  chin  and  eyelids  level,  stepping 
over  stone  and  tussock  as  upon  a  spring 
floor,  turned  out  sentences  from  the  patent 
lathe  of  an  intellect  trained  to  carry  rather 
than  originate.  liertie  lounged  along  at  her 
side,  swinging  a  stout  stiek  he  had  cut 
in  the  bushes,  and  in  the  intervals  of  her 
paragraphs,  delivered  in  his  gentlest  drawl 
denunciations  against  Sioux,  Iroquois,  (."hoc- 
taws  and  Xe/,  Perces,  so  charged  with  blood- 
thirstiness  that  Clara's  auburn  curls  stiffened 
in  the  hearing. 

"  I  have  too  much  respect  for  your  real 
intelligence  to  believe  for  a  moment  that 
you  are  serious,"  Karen,  almost  overtaking 
them  with  Mr.  Romeyn,  heard  her  sav. 
"  For  myself,  I  consider  the  subject  too  mo 
mentous  for  sportive  treatment.  These  are 
our  fellow-creatures,  our  brothers  and  sis 
ters —  " 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  133 

pardon,  there  !  "  interrupted  Bertie, 
mildly.  "  The  unity  of  the  human  race  is  a 
mooted  question,  don't  you  know  ?" 

"That  is  the  cavil  of  the  scientist.  It 
was  the  stronghold  of  the  Southern  slav<- 
driver.  We  all  sprang  from  one  root.  We 
are  scions  of  the  same  stock.  You  and  the 
hated  Indian  —  hated  because  of  what  our 
cruel  injustice  has  made  him  to  be  —  are 
members  of  one  body  —  " 

"  Beg  pardon  again !  You  ca-a-n't  mean 
that  he  is  one  le-e-g  and  I  another,  so  to 
speak?" 

"  If  you  choose  to  put  it  in  that  way."  In 
the  Lisbon  Seminary  the  three-lettered  mono 
syllable  had  no  place  in  polite  talk,  but  Clara 
bore  up  creditably.  "  We  are  integral  por 
tions  of  the  body  politic." 

"  Then,  be  Ja-awve  !  "  swept  by  the  horror 
of  the  thought  into  momentary  forgetfulness 
of  his  usual  fine  courtesy,  —  "I  say,  ampu 
tate  forthwith,  and  at  any  cost,  you  know ! 
We'd  better  stu-ump  it  for  the  rest  of  our 
natural  lives  ! " 

The  absurdity,  made  trebly  ludicrous  by 
manner  and  intonation,  raised  a  shout  from 
the  four  who  were,  by  now,  close  upon  the 


l.'U       WITH     THE    JIKST    I.\TK.\TK>.\*  : 

disputants.  Bertie's  arm  w;us  twitched  vio 
lently  from  behind  at  the  same  moment. 

"Eh!  beg  pardon?"  said  lie,  looking  over 
his  shoulder  in  cherubic  simplicity. 

Mr.  Iiomeyn  had  dealt  the  rebukeful 
pineh,  Imt  it  was  Karen  who  at  that  instant 
exclaimed  :  — 

"There  is  Friendship's  Altar!  Shall  we 
stop  and  sacrifice  upon  it?" 

Kmnictt  and  (Jem  guyly  led  the  way  to  the 
great  boulder,  cushioned  with  moss  and 
draped  with  vines.  As  the  party  was  broken 
into  single  file  by  trees  and  brushwood, 
Clara  found  Mrs.  Dumaresque  directly  in 
front  of  her.  Ten  seconds  ago  she  would 
have  declared  that  no  temptation  could  ever 
make  her  so  far  forget  pride  and  ladyhood, 
but  she  bent  forward  and  dropped  a  do/en 
words,  sharp  and  cold  as  sleet,  into  her 
ear:  — 

"  Your  interference  was  well  meant,  Mrs. 
Dumaresque,  hut  I  can  protect  myself  ! '' 

She  had  only  time  to  see  the  rush  of  pained 
surprise  into  the  expressive  eyes  turned 
quickly  upon  hers,  and  they  were  with  the 
others  at  the  base  of  Friendship's  Altar. 

"You  know  the  legend,  I  am  sure?''   Mr. 


A     MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  135 

Romeyn  appealed  to  Karen.  "  We  have 
never  found  you  at  fault  yet." 

She  was  very  pale  ;  her  breath  came  irreg 
ularly  ;  as  she  laid  her  hand  upon  the  age- 
blotched,  granite,  it  shook,  but  her  voice  was 
firm  and  sweet. 

"  There  must  be  a  first  time  to  everything, 
you  know.  I  know  of  no  story  connected 
with  the  rock." 

"  Then  make  up  one  ! "  demanded  petted 
Gem.  "It  would  be  a  thousand  times  pret 
tier  than  any  fussy  old  Island  tale  !  " 

"  That  goes  without  saying,"  assented  un 
suspicious  Emmett,  smiling  affectionately  at 
his  old  playfellow. 

Color  and  light  swept  back  into  Karen's 
face  ;  a  musing  smile  stirred  her  lips  slowly. 
She  stood  for  a  moment,  with  downcast  eyes, 
then  began  with  the  grave  simplicity  which 
gave  nameless  and  irresistible  charm  to  her 
narrations  :  — 

"Once  upon  a  time  —  a  very  long  time 
ago — six  friends  arrived  at  this  great  rock 
by  as  many  different  ways.  Each  had  his  or 
her  own  home  and  work  in  the  wide  world, 
and  since  they  had  not  concerted  to  meet 
here  on  that  day,  each  was  surprised  to  see 


/o6       WITH    TIIK    HE  XT    /.V77^V77O.VX  : 

the  others.  But — being  friends  tried  and 
true  —  they  were  triad  of  the  day  and  hour 

»  O  *• 

(hat  brought  them  together  in  this  loycly, 
secluded  spot.  They  sat  down  upon  fallen 
trunks  and  upon  mossy  stones,  and  talked 
long  and  lovingly  of  what  each  had  felt  and 
suffered,  and,  above  all.  </»ne  since  their  last 
parting.  The  big  boulder  was  quite  bare 
then  ;  rain  had  stained  the  sides,  and  frost 
had  left  crackles  over  the  surface  like 
wrinkles  in  an  old  man's  face.  A  lightning 
bull  had  split  upon  tin-  top.  and  scored  deep 
lines  on  the  gray  forehead.  These  trees 
were  here,  however,  and  if  we  could  under 
stand  what  they  are  whispering  about.  I 
think  we  should  hear  some,  of  the  sweet 
things  they  heard  that  day  from  the  six 
friends. 

k-  Did  I  tell  you  that  three  were  men  and 
three  women  ?  They  had  bread  and  wine  in 
their  wallets,  aud  ate  and  drank  together  —  a 
sort  of  love-feast  it  was  to  them  all.  And, 
by  and  by,  when  the  sun  struck  level  through 
the  woods,  and  the  shadows  began  to  grow 
cool,  one-  of  the  young  men  climbed  to  the 
top  of  the  big  stone,  that  may  have  been 
dropped  here  during  the  war  of  the  Titans, 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  137 

and  broke  a  full  bottle  of  red  wine  upon  the 
scarred  forehead,  and  christened  the  lonely 
boulder  '  Friendship's  Altar.' 

"  As  he  did  this,  and  they  all  said 
'  Amen  !  '  a  young  girl,  with  trustful  blue 
eyes  and  a  merry  mouth,"  -  -  in  saying  it,  she 
smiled  at  Gem,  —  "  espied  in  a  seam  of  the 
rock  a  quaint  little  fern,  the  leaves  of  which 
were  set  in  rather  formal  fashion,  upon  a 
stern,  like  line,  glossy  wire.  There  were  just 
six  sprays  of  it,  and  she  gave  one  to  each  of 
those  whose  eyes  were  sorrowful  at  the 
thought  of  the  years  and  miles  that  would 
again  divide  them.  And,  because  the  shining 
stem  was  so  near  the  color  of  the  vouner 

»/  O 

girl's  hair  as  she  stood  in  the  shade,  distribu 
ting  the  sprays,  the  oldest  woman  there 
called  it  '  Maiden-hair  fern.'  Each  took  a 
spray,  as  I  have  said,  and  each  promised 
the  rest  and  his  or  her  own  heart  that, 
through  all  thoughts  of  the  dear  ones  there 
present  should  always  run  the  slender,  steady 
thread  of  perfect  trust,  holding  all  fast  and 
in  seemly  order. 

"•  The  next  year,  the  older  woman  whom 
I  have  mentioned  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
rock — alone  —  and  saw  that  a  strange  thing 


J:.S       H  -y/7/     THE    7,'AV-T 


had  happened.  Rich  moss  had  covered  the 
scars  made  b\-  the  lightning,  and,  following 
the  track  of  tin.-  red  wine,  had  spread  a  velvet 
mantle  over  the  rock.  .As  for  the  maiden 
hair  fern,  a  do/en  spravs  had  sprung  Tip  for 
everv  one  the  girl  with  the  sweet  eyes  and 
laughing  mouth  had  gathered. 

••  Must  everv  legend  have  a  moral?  Mine 
has  none,  unless  it  lie  that  I  leaven  Messes 
true  hearts,  and  that  love  grows  with  the 

giving." 

While  she  talked.  Hertie  had  plucked  off 
his  cap  silentlv.  and  tin.  other  men  as  silentlv 
imitated  him.  (Jem's  eves  were  like  dewv 
gentians,  her  red  lips  apart  and  tremulous 
witli  a  smile  that  would  not  let  her  speak  in 
accepting  her  share  of  the  spravs  Karen  now 
playfully  gathered  from  a  rift  in  the  rock 
and  offered  to  the  partv.  Taking  a  tiny 
:!"te-book  from  the  velvet  ba(_;'  hung  at  her 
side,  the  girl  laid  the  sprigs  between  the 
leaves,  and  put  the  hook  hack  in  the  reticule. 
Jit-Hie  raised  his  to  his  lips  he  fore  pinning  it 
seeurelv  in  the  side  of  his  eap  :  Mi'.  Romeyn 
gravely  shut  his  up  in  his  pocket-hook,  and 
Kmmitt  asked  his  wife  for  a  pin  to  make  his 
fast  in  his  buttonhole. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  139 

Her  little  laugh  was  thin  and  high. 

"  Wouldn't  it  be  safer  done  up  in  tissue 
paper  and  kept  in  the  left-hand  vest-pocket? 
But  there  is  your  pin !  I  hope  the  rest  of 
you  have  shoes  as  stout  as  mine.  The  Ti 
tans  selected  a  boggy  spot  in  which  to  drop 
the  boulder.  I  am  afraid  the  Happy  Six  had 
catarrhs  and  rheumatism  after  their  picnic.'' 

"  That  may  have  been  the  reason  that  only 
one  dared  come  back  the  next  year," 
rejoined  Karen,  with  perfect  temper  and 
breeding.  "  In  the  second  edition  of  the 
story  I  will  guard  against  such  harrowing 
possibilities  by  mentioning  that  they  had 
Peruvian  bark  as  well  as  port  wine  in  their 
wallets." 

Mr.  Romeyn  was  at  Clara's  side  when  they 
regained  the  road.  Bertie  was  with  Gem, 
and  Emmett,  for  the  first  time  that  day, 
became  Mrs.  Dumaresque's  escort. 

Ascertaining  this  by  a  backward  glance, 
Clara  quickened  her  pace. 

"  I  believe  I  did  get  chilled  in  that  damp 
hollow  !  "  she  said,  nervously.  "  I  must  walk 
fast  to  get  warm." 

The  dignified  bachelor  kept  step  with  her, 
handing  her  over  ruts  and  holding  back 


liO       117777     7777-;    VEST    7A'77.\V7'7'^V>1  : 

boughs  with  assiduity,  the  more  exasperating 
to  her  irritated  spirit  because  she  had  to  be 
obliged  to  him  for  what  provoked  her  to 
snappishness. 

They  walked  so  fast  that  they  were  virtu 
ally  alone  in  the  green  gloom  of  the  woods 
when  they  readied  Seott's  ('aye,  the  termi 
nus  of  the  road.  Bertie  and  Gem  were  just 
in  sight  at  the  end  of  the  leafy  vista  when 
Clara  broke  in  upon  her  companion's  cour 
teous  tale  of  American  caves. 

"Mrs.  Dumaresqiie  is  an  actress  of  uncom 
mon  ability.  Do  you  know  in  what  dramatic 
school  she  was  graduated?  " 

The  common-place  man  faced  her  full,  his 
features  unchanged,  save  for  the  kindling 
light  within  the  somewhat  dull  eyes.  With 
one  hand  he  lifted  his  hat,  with  the  other  lie 
pointed  upward. 

••  I  believe,"  he  said,  deliberately,  as  he 
might  have  named  London  or  Munich,  "she 
had  her  decree  from  Heaven  ! 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE,  141 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE  pedestrians  had  visited,  and  Bertie,  at 
Gem's  order,  had  probed,  as  far  as  a  twelve- 
foot  pole  would  reach,  the  mysterious  fissure 
that  bisects  the  Island,  the  mossy  sides  of 
which  are  overhung  with  creeping  plants, 
while  the  unfathomed  depths  are  choked 
with  the  fallen  leaves  of  centuries.  They 
had  peeped  into,  without  entering,  Henry's 
Cave,  where  the  white  fugitive  from  the 
Michilimackinack  Massacre,  in  1763,  passed 
his  first  night  in  hiding  without  suspecting 
that  what  he  had  lain  upon  in  the  darkness 
was,  as  he  tells  us  he  discovered  at  "  day 
break,"  -  —  nothing  less  than  a  heap  of  human 
bones  and  skulls,  which  covered  all  the  floor." 
Gem,  sure-footed  as  a  chamois,  had  climbed 
with  Bertie  to  the  Devil's  Oven  in  Sugar 
Loaf  Rock,  and  the  divergence  from  the 
high-road  to  Scott's  Cave  was  proposed  by 
the  same  tireless  explorer. 

"  Her   tastes   being    ca-a-v-ernous,   as   well 


14-       J',7/77     77/7;    /,'/•;>  j"    L\T1-;.\T1(>.\S  : 

as  osseous,  you  know,"  remarked  Bertie. 
resignedly,  as  she  knelt  to  peer  into  the  Mack 
recess.  "Henrys  C'ave  would  have  lilh-d 
the  hill  exactly  had  not  the  skeletons  heen 
carled  oil  liy  her  fellow-ghouls.  She  hopes 
against  hope  to  lind  inortuarv  nienie-e-ntoes 
here,  —  don't  you  know'/" 

Witliout  deigning  reply  or  glance,  (iem 
ducked  her  prettv  head  and  disappeared  in 
the  cave.  In  a  twinkling  Bertie  darted  in 
after  her.  and  hefore  Clara  could  look  virt 
uously  aghast,  Mrs.  Dumaresque  gathered 
her  skills  ahout  her,  and.  stooping  low. 
followed  them. 

"May  I  have  the  pleasure?"  said  M;. 
Romeyn,  extending  his  hand  to  Mrs.  Mor 
gan,  as  lie  might  ask  her  to  dance. 

"Thank  you!  I  prefer  open  air  and  sun 
shine."  -  —  with  politeness  that  was  hitinglv 
punctilious.  ••  But  do  not  let  me  keep  you." 

lie  howed  and  vanished  into  the  wide,  low 
mouth  of  the  rock. 

Hushand  and  wife  were  left  to  themselves 
without  the  crevice,  from  which  issued  a  hum 
and  jumhle  of  reverberant  voices. 

"Let  us  go  in!"  pleaded  fun-loving  Km- 
mett.  "It  is  part  of  the  programme." 


A    MIDXUMHElt    EPISODE.  143 

"  I  shall  stay  here,  by  your  leave.  One 
must  draw  the  line  somewhere  !  " 

Gem's  face,  alive  with  glee,  showed  in  the 
aperture  like  a  nodding  daisy  thrust  out  of  a 
rabbit-burrow. 

"  Have  you  a  newspaper,  Mr.  Morgan  ? 
We  have  dry  leaves  and  matches,  and  are 
going  to  build  a  fire.  Do  come  in,  Cousin 
Clara  !  " 

Clara  shook  her  head,  with  her  faint  semi- 
smile.  Emmett  produced  a  morning  paper, 
and  proceeded  to  cut  balsam  and  cedar  twigs 
for  fuel.  He  was  on  his  hands  and  knees, 
passing  them  in  to  the  fire-builders,  when  his 
wife  exclaimed  :  — 

"  Get  up !  quick  !  Here  comes  a  riding 
party!" 

Three  equestrians  were  entering  the  irregu 
lar  vista  of  greenery,  bowing  their  heads  to 
avoid  hanging  boughs.  As  they  approached, 
Mrs.  Morgan  recognized  Captain  and  Mrs. 
Dale,  and,  a  second  later,  the  officer  with  the 
scar  upon  his  cheek,  she  had  last  seen  upon 
the  yacht. 

The  situation  was  embarrassing.  The  red 
glare  within  the  cave  was  that  of  a  furnace, 
or  the  Devil's  Oven  in  full  blast,  and  as  the 


1-44       WITH     THE     IlEST     L\TI-:\1'K)XS  : 

riders  reined  in  their  horses  to  greet,  the  young 
couple,  Bertie  s  voice,  hoarse  ;unl  I'esoiiant  as 
the  drone  of  a  lilue-lly  in  a  bottle,  was  heard 
reciting1 :  — 

••  15 lark  spirits  and  white, 
Ilcil  spirits  and  grav," — 

joined  by  (iem's  dulcet  treble  in  a  musical 
wobble.  — 

••  Mingle,  mingle,  mingle! 
You  th.'tt  mingle  may." 

"Incantations  go  naturally  with  caverns." 
said  tactful  Mrs.  Dale.  "How  fortunate 
that  we  are  in  time  for  the  illumination  !  " 

And  the  Captain  —  ->  Scott's  chimnev  draws 
well!  Mrs.  Morgan.  l,-l  me  introduce  my 
friend.  Major  Kane." 

The  Major  lifted  his  hat  with  the  air  of  a 
well-bred  man,  and  as  Kmmett  was  named, 
smiled. 

"A  pleasant  episode  in  our  excursion!'' 
he  said,  taking  his  cue  from  his  friends. 

Then,  seeing  Clara  color  more  deeply  at. 
the  shriek  of  hollow  laughter  issuing  from 
the  grinning  rock,  Mrs.  Dale  said  a  few 
words  of  cordial  hope  that  the  party  would 
rest  at  the  Foil  on  their  way  home,  and  the 
three  cantered  away. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  145 

"  How  horribly  annoying !  People  have 
no  right  to  subject  others  to  such  humilia 
tion  !  "  ejaculated  the  poor  bride.  "  I  wish 
I  had  never  come  out  with  them  !  A  woman 
of  thirty-four  and  a  man  of  thirty-seven  ought 
to  understand  the  first  principles  of  deco 
rum.  So  much  for  intimacy  with  fast  soci 
ety  women ! " 

Kmmett  ceased  to  laugh,  There  was  a 
warm  spark  in  his  eye  while  he  listened. 

"  I  thought  you  were  too  good-tempered 
and  too  sensible  to  take  offence  at  a  bit 
of  harmless  amusement,"  he  said,  quietly. 
"What  could  Airs.  Dumaresque  do  but  follow 
those  children  into  the  cave,  unless  she  had 
preferred  the  role  of  prude  and  spoil-sport?" 

Every  word  froze  Clara  into  coldness  more 
deadly  than  her  previous  show  of  anger. 
"Prude"  and  "spoil-sport"  were  ugly  terms 
in  the  ear  of  a  month-old  wife. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon ! "  in  her  clearest  ac 
cents.  "  My  antecedents  are  my  excuse  for 
non-appreciation  of  such  exhibitions." 

"  Then,  for  Heaven's  sake,  rise  above  your 
antecedents ! "  began  Emmett,  when  Gem 
popped  out  of  the  rocky  chamber,  and  the 
other  revellers  followed. 


140       WITH    THE    11KST    L\TE.\TIO.\s  : 

"•  It  was  fun  alive  !  "  averred  the  girl,  un- 
inindful  of  the  changed  moral  atmosphere 
into  which  she  had  plunged.  '"There  was 
room  for  a  dozen  people.  We  made  the  tire 
upon  a  ledge  like  a  mantel.  We  couldn't 
see  a  line,  but  xonictliin;!  drew  beautifully  ! 
And  the  floor  was  as  dry- 

""As  the  bones  that  weren't  there!"  fin 
ished  Bertie,  teasingly. 

It  was  chagrin,  rather  than  relief,  to  Mrs. 
Morgan,  that  nobodv  seemed  to  notice  her 
civil  hauteur  then  and  during  tin:  tramp 
through  the  sinuous  paths  leading  to  the 
lunch-ground.  Mi1.  Romcvn  and  Karen  were 
the  pioneers:  Bertie  and  (Jem  laughed  and 
quarrelled  in  their  wonted  fashion,  as  far 
behind  husband  and  wife  as  Mr.  Ifomeyn's 
faultlessly  clad  figure,  holding  back  intrusive 
branches  that  Mrs.  Dumaresque  mi'_dit  pass 
untouched,  was  in  front. 

A  loaf  of  refined  sugar  bruises  the  smiting 
hand  as  surelv  as  LTranito.  Kmmett's  temper 
was  sweet  and  sound,  but  he  could  he  reso 
lute  to  stubbornness.  Clara  was  behaving 
foolishly,  in  his  opinion.  lie  hoped  to  I  leaven 
she  would  not  mature  into  such  a  pattern  of 
pious  propriety,  prudence,  and  prejudice  as 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  147 

her  mother,  Mrs.  James  Cameron,  the  first 
lady  of  Lisbon.  And,  since  he  cherished  the 
belief  that  if  Mrs.  Cameron's  estimable  spouse 
had  assumed  command  of  the  domestic  forces 
early  in  the  campaign  it  would  have  been  well 
for  wife,  husband,  and  children,  it  behooved 
him,  Emmett  Morgan,  to  profit  by  the  experi 
ence  of  his  worthy,  but  hen-pecked  papa-in- 
law.  As  a  beginning,  he  would  leave  Clara 
to  find  her  senses,  unhindered  and  unhelped 
by  him.  Not  that  he  nursed  his  righteous 
indignation,  or  showed  symptoms  of  sulking. 
Before  they  came  in  sight  of  the  lunching- 
place,  he  espied  an  element  of  the  ridiculous 
in  the  recent  "spat."  He  had  impatiently 
advised  Clara  to  rise  above  her  antecedents. 
In  cool  patience,  he  decided  the  counsel  to  be 
excellent.  A  few  more  lessons  to  this  effect 
would  cure  her  of  sundry  ways  and  notions 
unworthy  of  so  noble  a  creature.  He  did  not 
in  the  least  divine  that  her  petulant  disap 
proval  of  the  prankish  episode  of  the  cave 
bonfire  had  deeper  root  than  in  prudish  dread 
of  escapades  that  threatened  every-day  pro 
prieties.  The  tone  of  the  festal  party  was 
not  discordant  to  him.  He  fell  in  readily 
with  holiday  freak  and  fancy,  knowing  the 


148          WITH    THE   IIKST  AV77-.\V77O.YN  : 

participants  and  tlieir  order —  which  was  Ids 
own —  too  well  to  fear  lest  either  should  be 
carried  too  far. 

It  \vas  a  disagreeable  surprise  when  Clara 
met.  with  eyes  green  and  shallow  with  cool 
disdain,  the  snnnv  look  he  turned  upon  her 
when  the  spider-like  uprights  and  ladders  of 
the  Fort  Holmes  observatory  loomed  above 
the  trees. 

"We  will  find  our  lunch  there,  I  suppose,'' 
he  remarked.  "Are  yon  verv  tired?" 

"  Not  at  all,  thank  you  !  " 

Each  accent  might  have  been  clipped  out 
with  a  metal  die. 

"You  have  a  good  appetite.  I  hope?" 

"Verv  good  —  I  am  obliged  to  you  !  " 

Thev  had  come  out  into  the  clearing  about 
the  spidery  structure.  In  the  shade  of  the 
environing  trees  were  a  wagon  and  two 
carriages. 

Mrs.  Dumaresque  and  Gem  cried  out  si 
multaneously  with  delight.  Mrs.  Manlv  re 
clined  in  her  low-hung  phaeton  ;  Mrs.  (iillette 
sat  at  her  side.  The  plot  of  bringing  the  two 
mothers  to  the  sylvan  feast  had  been  arranged 
between  Messrs.  Romeyn  and  Gates,  even 
Emmett  being  ignorant  of  it.  A  cloth  was 


A    MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  149 

laid  up!  >n  the  grass,  and  waiters  from  the 
hotel  had  spread  upon  it  a  collation  brought 
from  the  spring-wagon.  Carriage  cushions 
and  rugs  were  provided  for  the  ladies :  the 
empty  carriage  was  to  convey  them  home 
should  they  desire  to  drive  the  rest  of  the 
way. 

"  How  admirably  you  have  ordered  every 
thing  —  the  weather  included  !  "  said  Karen, 
by  and  by,  to  the  senior  manager.  "  We  have 
not  encountered  even  a  cross  zephyr ;  the 
mayonnaise  is  in  the  serenest  mood  conceiva 
ble,  and  the  ices  are  in  good  form.  You 
might  make  a  fortune  as  comptroller  of  al 
fresco  entertainments,  if  you  would  turn  your 
mind  to  this  important  branch  of  industry." 

"  Thank  you !  I  shall  treasure  the  com 
pliment,  and  lay  away  the  hint  for  serious 
consideration.  The  eternal  fitness  of  things 
should  have  secured  '  Queen's  weather'  for  us 
to-day." 

His  bow  and  glance  directed  the  speech  — 
not  to  the  nominal  queen  and  motive  of  the 
fete,  but  to  Mrs.  Dumaresque.  Clara's  swol 
len  heart  bled  slow  drops  of  angry  mortifica 
tion.  She  had  been  fooled  and  used  in  the 
service  of  this  unblushing  intriguante  !  Under 


150       WITH    THE    /;/>T    I.\Ti:.\TIO.\S  : 

cover  of  honoring  he;1  ;is  bride,  stranger,  ami 
guest,  opportunity  was  afforded  her  riv;d  to 
shine,  and  to  strengthen  her  Imld  upon  every 
man  there —  .Mrs.  Morgan's  husband  not  ex- 
cepted. 

"  Mv  dear  Clara,"  said  Mrs.  Manlv  from 
her  cushioned  nest.  ••  you  are  paler  tlian  I 
like  to  see  you.  Positively,  i/»u  sliall  not 
\valk  hack,  \vliatcver  these  ultra-muscular 
Avonien  niav  attempt." 

l)lo\v  upon  hlo\v  !  Was  she  to  In- credited, 
then,  with  nothut//  which  could  compare  with 
the  accomplishments  ot  her  who  had  never 
looked  handsomer  and  healthier  than  as  sin- 
arose  to  her  feet.  and.  swinging  her  hroad- 
hrimmed  hat  hv  the  strings  while  she  talked, 
looked  up  to  the  observatory  thev  proposed 
to  climb,  apparently  deaf  to  the  impending 
discussion  ? 

"  I  was  never  in  better  health  and  spirits," 
asserted  Clara,  rising  likewise,  and  speaking 
faster  than  usual.  "  And.  if  the  sovereign  of 
the  day  will  permit,  1  will  remain  with  her 
suite  to  the  end  of  her  progress." 

Still  Karen  did  not  seem  to  heed  aught 
save  her  chat  with  Bertie  and  (Jem.  Cleo 
patra-Skewton  accosted  her  loudly. 


A    MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  151 

"  Dearest  Mrs.  Dumaresque  !  You  lose  all 
the  nice,  loyal  speeches  made  to  you." 

Karen  turned  a  face  so  sunshiny  and  sweet 
that  even  Clara  fancied  that  her  dart  had 
fallen  short  of  the  mark. 

"  To  me  !     I  heard  all  Mrs.  Morgan  said. 

O 

But  I  supposed  she  was  apostrophizing  her 
self  —  referring  the  question  to  the  only 
authority  our  queen  regnant  should  acknowl 
edge  —  her  own  royal  judgment/' 

Bertie  began  the  clapping  of  hands  that 
applauded  a  retort  more  courteous  and  grace 
ful  than  written  words  can  convey. 

I  would  keep  before  the  reader's  mind  the 
truth  that  Clara  Morgan  was  a  yood  woman, 
a  sincere  Christian  who,  theoretically,  yet 
honestly,  lived  in  charity  of  thought  with 
her  neighbor.  It  is  equally  true  that,  at  that 
instant,  she,  for  the  first  time  in  her  placid 
life,  knowingly  hated  a  human  being.  The 

O     \J  O 

tyranny  of  social  intercourse  forced  her 
patent  smile  to  lips  that  must  not  quiver. 
She  had  no  repartee  ready  fit  to  offer  in  pay 
ment  for  the  compliment  of  which  she  was 
the  reluctant  recipient,  but  her  mute  blush 
served  her  turn  as  well. 

Mrs.  Manly  patted  ^"v  shoulder,  approv 
ingly  :  - 


Io2        WITH    THE    HXXT   INTENTIONS: 

••  Good  by.  love  !  We  old  ladies  will  be 
jo<_rged  back  to  easy  chair  and  .sofa.  But  this 
day  will  be  a  star  in  memory,  always.  Keep 
an  eve  upon  mv  giddy  girl,  please,  Mi's. 
Dumaresque ;  and,  (Jem,  darling,  don't  tax 
lier  indulgence  too  far  !  " 

The  original  partv  of  six  rambled  around 
the  sunken  earthworks,  traced  the  foundation 
of  the  ruined  magazine  and  the  subterranean 
passage  conducting  from  it  to  the  officers' 
houses,  and  then  mounted  the  combination 
of  trestle-work  and  staircase  which  formed 
the  skeleton  tower.  From  the  platform  at  the 
top,  a  glorious  panorama  of  woods,  waters, 
and  islands  lav  beneath  them  on  all  sides. 
Mrs.  Dumaresque,  one  knee  upon  the  wooden 
bench  that  ran  along  the  inside  of  the  rail 
ing,  was  looking  at  a  distant  point  of  land 
through  the  field-glass  steadied  for  her  by 
Mr.  Uomcvn,  when  rapid  feet  were  heard 
ascending  the  stairs. 

"  I  saw  it  very  distinctly."  said  Karen's 
full,  mellow  voice,  as  she  stood  again  tip- 
right.  "  Perhaps  Mrs.  Morgan  would  like  to 
look  —  " 

In  turning,  she  was  brought  face  to  faee 
with  Captain  Dale  and  Major  Kane. 


A   MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  153 

A  gasping  groan  escaped  her ;  she  made  a 
liasty  movement  backward,  which  Clara  sub- 
sequently  interpreted  into  an  impulse  to  cast 
herself  headlong  from  the  tower.  At  the 
moment  she  was  so  startled  by  the  sudden 
reel  toward  the  low  rail  that  she  sprang  for 
ward,  and  caught  her  detested  rival  by  both 
arms. 


154       WITH    THE    LEXT   1.\TL\\T1OX*  : 


CHAPTER    XL 

IT  was  in  keeping  with  the  line  courtesy 
innate  in  Karen  Dumaresque,  and  which 
never  forsook  her,  that  the  first  words  formed 
by  her  livid  lips,  when  her  senses  rallied  to 
do  her  will,  were  "Thank  von  ! ''  to  the 
wuinan  who  had  probably  saved  her  life. 

Sinking  then  npon  the  bench,  she  pressed 
her  lingers  npon  her  eves,  motionless  for  a 
minute,  while  (Jem  folded  her  arms  about 
her,  and  -Mr.  llomeyn  raced  down  the  steps 
to  get  a  glass  and  carafe  of  water  from  the 
waiters  who  were  repacking  the  table  service. 
Bertie  fanned  the  half-conscious  woman  with 
his  hat.  and  Clara,  withdrawn  to  the  other 
side  of  the  small  platform,  scrutinized  the 
scene  with  calm  severitv. 

"It  lovki'il  like  vertigo!"  she  said,  in 
answer  to  Captain  Dale's  subdued  inqnirv. 
"She  was  apparently  perfectly  well  an  in 
stant  before  the  attack." 

"I    am    perfectly    well    now!''    responded 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  155 

Karen,  unexpectedly,  lowering  her  hands  and 
sitting  upright.  "  It  was  a  horrible  giddiness 
that  overtook  me.  How  are  you,  Captain 
Dale  ?  Please  don't  suspect  me  of  getting 
up  a  scene.  I  had  been  looking  through  the 
spy-glass,  and  forgot  how  high  I  was  above 
the  ground." 

The  first  sentences  were  articulated  as  if 
her  tongue  were  slightly  clogged;  the  last, 
easily  and  in  her  natural  voice.  In  uttering 
the  concluding  clause  she  moved  her  head  as 
if  to  2'et  a  better  view  of  the  stranger  stand- 

o 

ing  in  the  rear  of  the  party. 

Captain  Dale,  obeying  her  gesture,  turned 
toward  the  guest,  who  had  gone  down  a  few 
steps  of  the  upper  staircase  and,  one  hand 
upon  the  rail,  seemed  irresolute  -whether  to 
stay  or  take  flight. 

"  I  am  relieved  to  know  that  our  abrupt 
appearance  did  not  startle  you,"  said  the 
Captain.  "We  met  Mrs.  Gillette  and  Mrs. 
Manly  at  Point  Lookout,  but  they  did  not 
tell  us  you  were  here.  We  frightened  them, 
too,"  •  -  laughing  apologetically.  "  May  I 
introduce  my  friend  and  fellow-culprit,  Major 
Kane?" 

Mrs.  Dumaresque's  visage  settled  into  reso- 


1.00       WITH     THE    11EST    IXTESTIOXf: 

lute  composure  while  lie  spoke.  Still  pale, 
hut  perfectly  self-possessed,  slie  arose  to 
acknowledge  tlie  introduction.  Even  her 
eloquent  eyes  were  subject  to  the  tyranny  of 
will. 

"Unless  I  mistake," -  — not  losing  hold  of 
his  eves  while  she  said  it  deliberately,  as  i'" 
summoning  meinorv  to  l>ear  upon  the  subject, 

—  k%  Major    Kane    and    I    are    not    strangers. 
Were  you  not  the   guest,  for   a    few  days,  of 
Captain  Hart,  at  Vancouver   Karracks,  in  the 
autumn  of  1880?" 

The  man  looked  dazed  —  more  confused 
than  might  have  been  expected  from  one  of 
his  age  and  profession — then  brightened  to 
catch  the  clue  thrown  out,  and  bowed  pro 
foundly. 

"I  was!"  he  said,  respectfully.  "And  I 
recollect  you  perfectlv,  Mrs.  — 

"  Dumaresque  !  "  Karen  supplied  the  name 
almost  before  he  hesitated.  "  The  world  is 
a  little  ball  to  army  people.  They  are  all 
the  while  running  against  their  fellow- Arabs 

—  or  ants.      Canyon  tell  me  where  the  Ilarta 
are  now  ?  " 

They  stood  apart  from  the  rest,  chatting 
quietly,  yet  audibly,  of  one  old  acquaintance 


A   MIDSUMMER  EPISODE.  157 

after  another,  until  the  motion  to  descend 
was  made.  Major  Dale  reiterated  his  wife's 
invitation  to  call  at  the  Fort  on  the  home 
ward  walk,  and  offered  his  services  as  path 
finder.  He  addressed  invitation  and  offer  to 
Mrs.  Dumaresque,  assuming  her  to  be  the 
leader  of  the  expedition,  and  naturally  in  so 
doing,  fell  into  place  on  one  side  of  her,  Mr. 
Romeyn  keeping  the  other.  Emmett  was  in 
the  middle  of  a  sentence  to  Gem  Manly,  and 
without  dispossessing  Bertie  of  Ids  place, 
walked  along  with  them.  The  unpremedi 
tated  assignment  of  escorts  threw  Clara  and 
Major  Kane  together  in  the  narrow  road. 
Sure  that  her  husband  would  soon  join  them, 
she  lost  no  time  in  beginning  the  task  laid 
upon  her  by  conscience  and  pique. 

"There  is  a  free-masonry  —  an  entente  cor- 
diale  between  army-people,  let  them  meet 
where  they  will,"  she  observed,  agreeably. 
"  Although  I  suppose  Mrs.  Dumaresque  knows 
comparatively  little  of  her  husband's  brother- 
officers  since  his  death.  Were  you  acquainted 
with  him?" 

Major  Kane  looked  surprised  —  doubtless 
at  her  frank  inquisitiveness.  She  knew  it 
to  be  underbred,  but  the  opportunity  was  brief 


IvS       \VIT1I     THE    J1KST    7A'7'£'A'770JV>': 

and  golden.  Something  lay  back  of  the 
specious  show  of  tin,*  popular  woman.  The 
wife  she  sought  to  supplant  in  her  husband's 
regard  might  be  the  chosen  instrument  of 
Heaven  to  unmask  the  syren. 

Wv  I  met  him  several  times,"  said  her  com 
panion,  curtlv. 

Clara  drove  on  undauntedly. 

"Were  vmi  ever  on  the  same  post?" 

k>  Yes — -once  for  a  short  time,"  surprise 
evident  now  in  accent  as  in  look. 

*"  Was  he  so  very  handsome  and  fascinating 
as  people  say?  Mrs.  Dumaresque's  taste  is 
too  just  to  allow  her  to  play  the  sentimental 
relict,  and  she  never  mentions  him.  But 
others  describe  him  as  an  Adonis." 

"  I  believe  that  was  his  reputation.  I  lave 
you  been  long  on  the  Island?" 

k>  Over  a  week.  .Mrs.  (lillette  was  a  friend 
of  Mr.  Morgan  in  his  college  days.  Her 
daughter  and  he  had  not  met  since  until  we 
found  them  here.  How  long  ago  did  she- 
lose  her  husband  ?  " 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  disfavor  in  the 
serious  eyes  that  grew  suddenly  keen  in 
glancing  down  upon  the  obstinate  catechist. 

'•About  eight  years,  I  think." 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  159 

"  They  were  together,  then,  at  Vancouver 
Barracks  when  you  visited  that  post  in  1880  ?  " 

"  Captain  Dale  !  ''  called  Major  Kane, 
abruptly.  Are  there  snakes  in  these  woods?" 

The  handsome,  genial  face  looked  backward 
over  the  owner's  shoulder. 

"  Not  one  upon  the  Island,  my  dear  Ma 
jor !  Some  Iroquois  St.  Patrick  disposed  of 
the  species  before  white  man  set  foot  upon 
Mackinac." 

"•  I  must  take  your  word  for  it,  I  suppose," 
said  the  other,  reluctantly.  "  But  more  snaky- 
looking  coverts  I  never  beheld !  " 

Emmett,  attracted  by  the  colloquy,  ful 
filled  his  wife's  expectant  fears  by  quickening 
his  pace  to  join  the  pair,  and  the  dialogue 
fell  to  the  carriage  of  the  two  men. 

Clara  was  taciturn  and  thoughtful.  More 
than  ever  convinced  that  some  ugly  secret 
lay  behind  the  brilliant  life  she  stigmatized 
as  "  a  delusion  and  a  lie,''  she  was  foiled  in 
every  effort  to  run  it  down.  Her  clumsy 

\>  J 

queries  had  elicited  the  unimportant  date  of 
Caj)tain  Dumaresque's  demise,  but  also  put 
the  man  who  probably  knew  everything  she 
longed  to  learn  upon  his  guard  against  fu 
ture  approaches.  For  the  iirst  time  it  came 


WITH  THE  BEXT 


to  her  now  that  she  might,  ;us  she  phrased  it, 
in  her  chagrin,  have  "tapped  tin-  Dales." 
Army-people  all  know  each  other,  and  the 
gossip  df  one  post  became,  hv  ireijiient 
exchanges,  the  property  of  another.  But 
Major  Kaiu'  would  repeat  the  substance  of 
his  colloquy  with  the  inquisitive  hride  to 
his  friends  and  caution  them  to  discretion. 
The  very  free-masonry  of  which  she  had 
>pokcn  would  seal  their  lips. 

And  Emmett  knew  it  !  There1  was  the 
sharpest  sting!  The  broken  sentences  she 
had  caught  upon  the  vovage  to  St.  I<_niace 
laid  the  first  stone  of  the  wall  rising  slowlv 
hut  regularly  between  her  and  her  husband. 
Must  those  whom  (iod  had  joined  together 
be  put  utterly  asunder  bv  the  wiles  of  one 
unscrupulous  woman,  who  had  traded  upon 
her  widowhood  as  upon  everything  else? 

Mrs.  Dale  met  them  upon  the  pia/./.a  of  her 
co/ily  col  n  foil  able  quarters  and  took  the  ladies 
ill-doors  to  brush  off  the  dust  and  rearrange 
tresses  disordered  bv  envious  houghs  and 
hanging  vines.  Then  all  were  summoned  to 
take  a  restful  eup  of  tea  in  the  pretty  draw 
ing-room. 

As  Karen  sat  in   a  corner  of  the  sofa,  tea- 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  10 1 

cup  in  hand,  her  gracious  self-poise  was  inim 
itable  and  attractive.  Upon  the  lapel  of  the 
gray  jacket  that  matched  gown  and  hat  was 
the  withered  fern-spray  gathered  from  Friend 
ship's  Altar.  Her  gauntlets  lay  on  her  lap; 
upon  the  hand  holding  the  cup  and  saucer 
glittered  engagement  and  wedding  rings ;  her 
cheeks  were  colored  by  the  long  day  in  the 

v  O  *' 

sun-filled  air  into  dusky  red  that  made  her 
eyes  larger  and  more  splendid.  Her  lips  were 
srarlet  as  with  fever  ;  her  play  of  mirthful 
witticism  was  enchanting.  Not  an  incident 
of  the  excursion  was  forgotten,  and  all.  in 
cluding  her  vertigo  upon  the  tower-top,  by 
graceful  travesty  supplied  food  for  the  laugh 
ter  which  Clara,  the  one  grave  auditor,  com 
pared  mentally  to  the  crackling  of  thorns 
under  a  pot. 

'•  Nothing  and  nobody  can  hope  to  escape 
our  raconteur^  she  could  not  help  saying 
aside  to  Mrs.  Dale,  her  patent  half-smile  apol 
ogetic  and  deprecatory. 

••  Vet  who  ever  heard  her  say  an  ill-natured 
thing  ? "  replied  that  lady,  still  laughing. 
"She  shows  everybody  except  herself  ii> 
such  a  charming  light  that  one  esteems  it  an 
honor  to  figure  in  her  sketches.  I  envy  you 


1G2      M'/yyy  vv/y-;  y;y>y  y.v/7;.v77o.v>  .- 

win)  see  her  eyery  <lav.  — and  all  day,  it  you 
like.  Sin-  extracts  sunshine  from  the  in(»t 
unlikely  materials,  and  is  generous  in  shar 
ing  it  with  others." 

They  were  all  alike-  infatuated  to  mad 
ness.  While  almost  within  arm's  length,  she 
knew  there  lay  that  subtle,  dark  mystery 
whieli  would,  if  known,  change  worship  into 
contempt  ! 

They  walked  down  the  long  slojie  of  Fort 
Hill  in  the  sunset,  through  the  strati  inn- 
town,  and  by  the  shabby  little  home  of  the 

dead  and  almost  forgotten    Sophie    1! .  up 

the  long  plank  walk  winding  around  corners 
to  the  hotel.  The  great  pia/./a  was  thronged 
with  strollers  and  sitters.  It  was  a  work  of 
time  to  iuterthread  the  many  groups  and 
make  their  way  to  Mrs.  Munly's  sitting-room. 
Howeyer  pressed  for  time,  Mrs.  I)uinares<jue 
always  made  a  point  of  transferring  (Jem  to 
her  mother's  keeping  upon  their  return  from 
an  out-door  exeiirsii  i}\. 

Cleopatra  was  somewhat  the  worse  for  her 
outing. 

kv  My  Idiosyncrasy  is  the  sternest  of  ty 
rants,"  she  cackled,  feebly.  "  I  was  utterly 
prostrated  when  we  reached  home,  and  quarts 


4   MIDSUMMER  EPISODE.  163 

of  valerian  and  bromide  have  not  set  me  up. 
Dear  Mrs.  Gillette,  too,  was  pale  and  shaken. 
AVe  met  Captain  Dale  and  a  friend,  whom  he 
presented  as  Major  Kane,  or  King,  in  the 
\\uods.  They  came  suddenly  upon  us  at  a 
bend  of  a  lonely  road,  quite  like  two  gentle 
manly  foot-pads.  The  dear  Captain  apolo 
gized  most  gracefully,  —  for  I  could  not 
suppress  a  little  scream,  —  but  dearest  Mrs. 
Gillette  did  not  get  her  breath  for  several 
minutes  afterwards.  Do  sit  down  for  a 
while,  dear  Mrs.  Dumaresque,  and  tell  me  all 
that  happened  after  we  left  you." 

"  Thank  you  !  I  am  a  little  anxious  about 
Mamma,"  answered  Karen,  hastily.  "And  I 
am  sure  you  need  rest  more  than  company." 

"  The  tenderest  of  daughters  !  "  murmured 
Idiosyncrasy's  slave,  gazing  at  the  closing 
door.  "  There  is  your  exemplar,  Gem,  dar- 
ling!  Copy  her!  emulate  her!  you  can  never 
ex  eel  her!" 

"  What  a  noble-looking  man  Major  Kane 
is!"  Clara  was  pulling  off  her  gloves  and 
feigning  to  inspect  her  hands  for  traces  of 
snnlmrn.  "Mrs  Dumaresque  had  her  fright, 
too.  The  two  officers  climbed  the  observa 
tory  while  she  was  looking  through  the  field- 


164        WITH   THE   KKST   IKTEXTIOX*  : 

glass,  and  she  nearly  swooned.     Major  Kan- 
is  an  old  acquaintance  of  hers." 

••  Probably  a  friend  of  her  lamented  hus 
band,"  nodded  Mrs.  Mit-ndy,  sympathetically. 
"  She  has  an  exquisitely  sensitive  organi/.a- 
tiou.  ( )ne  can  think  what  a  (iiieen  she  inns; 
have  been  among  men  so  distinguished  for 
gallantry  as  the  defenders  of  their  eountrv. 
I  dote  upon  the  military  myself.  Not  that  I 
should  be  willin-j-  to  have  mv  aiiLTel-petsv  fall 

'      '  k  O  1  V 

in  love  with  one  — 

••  You  do  not  wish  to  have  her  copy  Mrs. 
Dumaresque  in  fh<i(.  then?" 

The  emphasis,  mure  strong  than  sweet, 
jarred  upon  (iein's  ear.  Her  wits,  always 
alert,  were  phenomenally  active  when  Karen 
was  under  discussion. 

"You  are  not  as  fond  of  Mrs.  Dumaresque 
as  the  rest  of  us.  Cousin  Clara."  said  the  out 
spoken  voting  partisan,  with  rising  complex 
ion.  "  What  lias  she  done  to  displease  you?" 

••  Mv  child!  what  a  preposterous  miscon 
ception!"  Vet  rational  Clara  was  glad  that 
the  light  was  at  her  back  when  she  said  it. 
She  felt  that  her  forehead  reflected  the  glow 
of  (Jem's  cheek.  "It  is  not  my  way  to 
become  honelessly  enamored  of  strangers. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  165 

Recollect,  I  have  known  your  fascinating 
friend  just  eight  days.  I  am  ignorant  of  her 
antecedents  and  character,  except  as  I  have 
gleaned  hints  of  these  from  hotel  gossips.  A 
year  from  this  time  I  may  answer  you  more 
intelligently." 

She  had  extricated  herself  from  the  corner 
in  which  the  girl  would  have  pent  her.  If 
her  disclaimer  should,  also,  act  as  a  salutary 
caution  to  the  too  credulous  mother  of  an 
artless  daughter  as  to  the  danger  of  watering- 
place  intimacies,  the  model  woman  would 
have  scored  one  for  prudence  and  virtue. 


166       WITH     THE    UJ-:sT 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Mus.  GILLETTE  did  not  appear  below  stairs 
on  Tuesday;  and  although  her  daughter  oc 
cupied  her  usual  place  at  the  breakfast  and 
lunch  table,  her  admirers  sa\v  her  nowhere 
else.  -Her  mother  \vas  far  from  \\ell,  and 
needed  her.  On  Wednesday  morning  the 
same  report  was  made. 

"Couldn't  you  help  nurse  her  —  or  some 
thing?"  asked  Emmett  of  his  wife,  apropos 
to  this  intelligence.  They  were  setting  out 
for  a  drive,  and  in  speaking  lie  cast  a  solici 
tous  glance  at  a  closed  window  upon  the 
second  iloor. 

u  Mv  '/(''?/•  husband  !  "  It  was  her  pet  ex 
clamation,  and  occasionally  and  unaccounta 
bly  rasped  the  auditor's  ear.  '•  Credit  me  with 
a  modicum  of  common  courtesy!  I  have 
offered  mv  services  twice  in  the  neatest 
terms  an  unimaginative  woman  can  muster. 
Happy  turns  of  speech  are  not  mv  forte,  you 
know,  but  mv  intentions  are  of  the  best." 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  167 

Emmett  was  a  good  driver,  but  his  jerk 
upon  the  reins  was  unscientific.  Under  the 
surprise  of  the  admonition,  the  horse,  whose 
intentions  were  also  of  the  best  make,  had 
"'hirlecl  them  half  a  mile  down  the  road 
before  the  husband  —  no  longer,  alas!  the 
bridegroom  —  answered  :  "  I  do  not  doubt 
that,  my  dear.  Only  —  a  hotel  is  a  dreary 
place  for  an  invalid  —  almost  as  dreary  as  a 
college  dormitory.  I  recollect  how,  when  I 
had  measles  in  my  sophomore  year,  Mrs. 
Gillette  had  me  brought  over  to  her  house, 
and  nursed  me  as  a  mother  might.'' 

"  My  dear  husband  !  "  provoked  to  tautol 
ogy  and  temper,  —  "  You  really  must  not 
depend  upon  such  a  poor,  commonplace 
creature  as  myself  to  pay  all  your  college 
debts.  You  should  have  married  a  woman 
richer  in  expedients  and  accomplishments." 

"•  May  I  trouble  you  to  hold  the  reins 
while  I  open  the  gate?  "  —calmly  civil. 

They  were  at  the  entrance  of  Island  Park, 
—  a  romantic  tract,  owned  by  a  wealthy 
Chicagoan,  whose  generous  kindness  in  per 
mitting  the  stranger  to  walk  or  drive  through 
wood  and  glade  deserves  more  than  this 
passing  notice. 


1G8     wrni   Tin:   nxxr  JXTEXTIOSX: 

Emmett  climbed  back  to  his  scat  after 
closing  the  gate,  resumed  the  reins,  and 
bewail,  forthwith,  to  tell  the  story  of  two 
Indian  mounds  he  had  brought  his  wife  to 
see.  They  were  overgrown  with  herbage 
and  the  turf  of  twice  two  hundred  years. 
Clara  thought  them  uninteresting  wens  upon 
the  face  of  Xatnre.  else  so  fail'  here.  She 
did  not  express  the  opinion.  Since  Kmmett's 
was  the  polished,  insinn  re  role,  she  was  not 
to  be  left  behind.  Thev  chatted  cheerfully 
and  alnio>t  volubly  of  the  magnificent  view 
from  the  two  prcttv  cottages  on  the  brow  of 
the  cliff:  of  the  depth  of  color  and  transpar 
ency  of  the  skv.  and  the  mellowed  reilection 
of  the  heavens  in  the  water:  of  beach. 
fishing-smacks,  Robinson's  Folly,  and  bath 
houses:  of  steamers  and  club-cottage  :  of 
the  comparative  cost  of  building  materials 
hen;  and  in  Xcw  ^  ork  :  of  everything  per 
taining  to  scene  and  tim>'.  In  line,  each 
entertained  the  other  diligently,  and  of  pur- 
pose. 

The  tacitly  arranged  scheme  was  carried 
out  to  perfection  up  to  the  moment  when 
Mr.  Morgan,  assisting  his  wife  to  alight  at 
the  hotel  door,  hoped,  smilingly,  and  with 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  109 

no  sub-meaning  in  Ids  clear  eyes,  tliat  slie 
had  "•  enjoyed  the  drive,''  and  she  rejoined  as 
brightly  that  it  had  been  "truly  delightful/' 

He  stepped  back  into  the  light  carriage, 
and,  putting  the  again-astonished  horse  upon 
his  mettle,  drove  three  quarters  of  the  dis 
tance  around  the  Island  before  he  could 
marvel  sadly,  instead  of  angrily,  '•  What 
under  heaven  ailed  Clara  of  late  ?  "  Would 
the  tangles  end  in  a  hopeless  knot'/  Then, 
it  must  1)0  confessed,  he  recalled  the  resolute 
placidity  of  Mrs.  James  Cameron's  face,  and 
wished  that  his  wife  did  not  remind  him  so 
often  of  his  exemplary  mother-in-law. 

Clara  stayed  her  stately  step  upon  the 
piazza  to  respond  to  two  or  three  who 
accosted  her  with  casual  nothings,  replying 
decently  and  politely,  and  with  manifest 
interest  in  subject  and  speaker.  Then  she 
carried — -still  with  unruffled  mien  and  stately 
gait  —  her  hot  and  hurt  heart  up  to  her  room,, 
locked  the  door,  and,  falling,  face  downward, 
upon  her  bed,  cried  bitterly  for  "  Mamma  !" 
with,  you  may  be  sure,  the  accent  upon  the 
last  syllable. 

The  dignified  First  Directress  of  the  La 
dies'  Pastoral  Aid  Association  of  the  First 


1.0 

Presbyterian  Church  in  Lisbon  (the  one  of 
\vhich  lit-v.  Dr.  Ivirkham  was  pastor  for  so 
nianv  years,  vou  remember)  had.  like  her 
oldest  daughter,  the  gift  of  neat  speech. 
I  ler  sueeinet  savings  \\'ere  Clara'.->  Proverbial 
Philosophv.  Uet'oro  she  wept  herself  into 
d'. i\\  Bright  disfigurement  and  nervous  col- 
lapse,  one  recurred  to  her:  — 

"Men's  hearts  mav  be  nielted  and  won  bv 
tears,  but  thev  must  be  kept  by  smiles." 

I5v  the  time  rose-water  and  a  careful  lunch 
toilette  had  effaced  the  stains  of  the  salt 
shower,  other  saws  came  to  her  help  :  ~- 

'•Never  attack  another  woman  in  the  hear 
ing  of  a  man.  if  vou  pri/.e  his  good-will. 
What  passes  in  the  world  for  chivalrv  spurs 
him  on  to  her  defence,  let  her  cause  be  never 
so  had." 

'•Shrewdness  and  patience,  backed  bv 
right,  must  linallv  overthrow  even  wily 
wrong." 

Clara  accepted  the  promptings  of  faithful 
mrinorv  as  a  special  Providence.  She  be 
lieved  in  such — -when  Providence  was  on 
her  side. 

It  was  fifteen  minutes  past  the  lunch  hour 
wlmu  Kmmett,  ju»t  returned  from  his  second 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  171 

drive,  met  his  spouse  at  the  bottom  of  the 
staircase  leading  down  to  the  rotunda. 

u  I  stayed  to  finish  my  letter,"  she  said, 
naturally  and  pleasantly.  "•  Mamma  de 
pends  so  much  upon  hearing  everything  !  " 

He  did  not  wrong  her  so  far  as  to  wonder 
if  "  everything  "  included  scenes  like  that  of 
the  forenoon.  Clara  WPS  a  true  woman,  and 
a  proud. 

The  semblance  of  restored  harmony  was 
made  more  real  by  the  unusual  length  of  the 
afternoon  walk  indulged  in  by  the  wedded 
couple.  When  Clara  was  dressed  for  dinner, 
the  great  salle  a  manger  was  nearly  deserted, 
their  table  cleared  of  all  plates  except  their 
own.  The  cozy  meal,  the  promenade  upon 
the  piazza  that  succeeded  it,  the  gentle  peace 
brooding  above  the  reunited  hearts,  were  like 
the  earliest  days  of  their  dual  life  —  the  morn-* 
ing  before  the  shadow  fell. 

Clara  had  a  quiet  hour  in  which  to  dream 
of  that  brighter  time,  sitting  in  Mrs.  Manly 's 
parlor  when  Emmett  had  gone,  at  her  re 
quest,  to  the  smoking-room,  and  she  had 
offered  to  relieve  Gem's  guard  over  her 
mother.  The  Idiosyncrasy  still  dominated 
the  heroic  sufferer,  Gem  had  been  awak§ 


172      \\-ITII    Tin:    /;/•:> y    iSTEXTioxs: 

much  of  the  preceding  night,  but  refused  to 
resign  her  post  until  anesthetics  and  opiates 
began  to  take  effect.  Then,  upon  ('lara's 
insistence,  she  joined  a  bevv  of  skirls  who 
besought  her  to  make  up  a  game  in  the 
drawing-room. 

Mrs.  Manlv  slept  soundly  no\v  that  sleep 
had  come.  Clara  extinguished  the  lamp  in 
the  outer  room,  and  pushing  ajar  a  shutter 
of  the  western  window,  seated  herself  near  it. 
The  night  was  strangely  sultrv.  The  bree/.e 
had  swooned  upon  the  bosom  of  the  waters 
which  were  darkening  under  a  rising  thun 
der-cloud.  I) road  wings  of  gloom,  tipped 
luridly,  slow  Iv  unfolded  in  surmounting  the 
distant  shore  line  of  St.  Ignacc.  Now  and 
then,  steel-blue  and  brassy  gleams  quire:  ! 
over  the  widening  blackness;  low  mutters 
of  thunder  vibrated  from  land  to  lake.  The 
band  in  the  gallerv  over  the  main  entrance  of 
the  hotel  was  plaving,  with  skilful  variations, 
the  air  of  the  old  song,  — 

••()  fair  Dove!     ()  fond  Dove! 
O  Dove  with  the  white- ,  white  In-east  !  " 

Unimaginative  Clara  could  not  but  follow 
the  melodv  and  supply  the  words,  as  instru 
ment  after  instrument,  took  up  the  refrain. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  173 

Hour  and  influence  were  weird,  —  the  more 
impressive  that  few  sought-  that  end  of  the 
piazza  on  this  evening.  The  sombre  gran 
deur  of  impending  storm  did  not  attract  the 
average  pleasure  seekers. 

A  couple  emerged  silently  and  suddenly 
from  a  corridor  close  by,  passing  so  near 
Clara's  window  that  she  c.  uld  have  touched 
them.  Dark  though  it  was,  she  recognized 
the  graceful  outlines  of  the  woman,  who 
paused  at  the  outer  railing  as  if  to  gaze  at 
the  blackening  west.  Her  companion  stood 
a  little  apart,  apparently  waiting  for  her  to 
begin  the  conversation.  A  Hash  of  lightning, 
more  vivid  than  any  that  had  preceded  it, 
revealed  their  faces  before  the  silence  was 
broken.  Karen's  voice  mingled  with  the 
thunder-roll.  Her  accent  was  interrogative, 
but  the  words  were  lost.  A  part  of  Major 
Kane's  reply  was  intelligible. 

kk  I  saw  —  and,  of  course,  recognized  you 
when  I  was  here,  a  week  ago.  Otherwise, 
the  change  of  name  — 

Karen's  face  was  turned  steadfastly  west 
ward,  and  her  answer  was  inarticulate. 
Major  Kane's  profile,  bent  slightly  toward 
her,  was  a  sharp  silhouette  against  the  next 


174      WITH  rut:  HKST 


bla/e    of    1)1  uc  lire,  and    ho    raised    his  voice 
involuntarily  above  the  growl  of  the  thunder. 

"  Nothing  is  further  from  my  intention 
than  to  persecute  you.  Hut,  looking  dis 
passionately  at  the  matter,  —  if  you  could  l>e 
brought  to  tolerate  the  thought  of  divorce  — 
The  listener  did  not  catch  the  next  sentence. 
but  a  rising  gust  brought  other  fragments. 

"Your  peculiar  views"  —••Marriage  vir- 
tuallv  annulled."  There  his  voice  dropped 
from  argument  hard  and  stern  into  pleading. 
lie  spoke  rapidly;  once  he  threw  out  his 
hands  in  vehemence  of  reasoning  or  appeal, 
and  another  broken  sentence  came  back  to 
Clara  upon  the  titful  wind. 

'•(TOD  knows  I  have  no  plea  for  him  —  t  he- 
destroyer  of  mv  home  !  " 

She  interrupted  him  imperiously.  The 
lightning  struck  out  needles  of  llame  from 
her  diamonded  linger  as  she  seemed  to  wave 
him  back. 

"Yes!"  she  tittered,  passionately.  "De 
spise  me  if  you  will  as  — 

And  again,  and  more  energetically:  — 

••Love  him!  Yes!  and  alwavs  shall! 
Why  force  me  to  confess  it  ?  " 

"  The    sight    of    me    is    hateful    to    you,   I 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  175 

know,"  began  Major  Kane,  in  reply.  Then,  for 
ten  minutes  all  was  pantomimic,  and  dimly 
visible  even  to  eyes  as  keen  as  those  that 
peered  between  the  half-open  shutters. 

Mrs.  Manly  slept  heavily,  her  sonorous 
breathing  irritably  audible  to  Clara's 
strained  senses.  The  band  played  in  piano 
the  wailing  refrain  :  — 

"  O  fair  Dove  !     ()  fond  Dove  !  " 

The  dense  purple  cloud  mounted  rapidly  : 
the  scimitar  of  the  lightninsf,  swung1  fast  and 

O  O  '  O 

high,  clove  it  to  the  heart  as  it  fled  before 
the  cruel  strokes.  Then  fell  the  rain,  slant 
and  sharp,  driving  the  man  and  woman 
backward  against  the  inner  wall.  Clara 
crouched  beneath  the  window-ledge,  as  the 
shutters  were  shaken  apart  by  the  gust,  one 
blowing  shut,  and  the  other  Happing  against 
the  house. 

%i  Are  you  pleading  for  yourself,  too  ? '" 
asked  Karen,  almost  in  Clara's  ear.  Her 
accents  were  incisive  with  impatience  or  dis 
dain.  "  Do  you  wish  to  marry  again?" 

He  gave  a  short,  harsh  laugh. 

"  Tempted  by  former  experience,  I  sup 
pose  ?  "  -  bitterly. 


17(5       WITH     THE    VEST    I.\TKyTIO.\S  : 

"  1  beg  vour  pardon,"  s;iid  his  companion. 
as  in  sudden  remorse.  "  I  am  mad,  almost. 
with  the  memories  von  have  raised.  Let  u> 
make  an  end  of  this  set-lie.  M  v  consent  is 
not  neeessarv  for  your  release.  The  ease  i.s 
plain  —  "  speaking  low  and  fast,  with  a  me 
tallic'  ring  in  her  voiee  that  told  of  intense 
excitement.  "A  man's  wife  elects  to  leave 
him.  and  —  with  another  man—  '  bringing1 
out  ihe  last  words  defuilltlv.  "The  deserted 
liushand  wishes  to  make  it  legally  possible 
for  her  to  marrv  that  man  —  or  anv  other, 
we  will  sav.  The  law  adjudges  the  husband 
to  be  the  injured  partv.  Kight  vears  of 
desertion  would  annul  the  marriage  —  if  you 
wish  to  enter  this  plea.  What  have  I  to  do 
Avith  vour  action  '.' " 

"If  voii  would  but  listen  patiently." 

Karen  turned  abruptlv  to  the  window,  and 
looked  into  the  room.  Clara  felt  her  hurried 
breath  and  checked  her  own  in  terror  of 
threatened  discovery. 

"  This  is  no  place  for  such  talk."  Karen 
said,  apparently  satisfied  that  the  chamber 
was  unoccupied.  "  \Ve  risk  detection  at  every 
turn.  The  corridor  is  safer  —  and  a  prome 
nade  under  the  chandeliers." 


4.   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  ITT 

Anything-   more    blood-curdling    than  the 

laugh    with    which    she    moved    away,  the 

horror-stricken  eavesdropper  had  never  im 
agined  even  in  a  nightmare. 


WIT  11     THE    BE^T 


CHAPTHR    XIII. 

A  WOMAN  who  had  seen  more  of  tlie  seamy 
side  of  life,  whose  sympathies  were  ready  and 
perceptions  acute,  would  not  have  jumped  to 
the  conclusion  adopted  l»v  Clara  as  soon  as 
she  rallied  from  the  shock  of  what  she  had 
seen  and  overheard.  It  mav  be  noted  as 
proof  of  the  unsettlement  of  her  reason  mid 
conscience  that  she  suffered  no  oualms  in 
recollecting  her  deliberate  eavesdropping. 
To  hear  something  and  surmise  much  was. 
perhaps,  inevitable.  In  the  abstract,  her 
mother,  like  herself,  disapproved  of  spying 
and  listening,  as  of  picking  and  stealing  :  but 
had  Mrs.  Cameron  been  in  her  daughter's 
place,  she  would  have  crouched  as  low,  and 
hearkened  as  eagerly. 

Clara  crept  back  to  her  chair  and  sat,  sick 
and  trembling,  under  the  horrors  encompass 
ing  her.  She  was  thankful,  now,  for  Mrs. 
Manlv's  stertorous  slumber  and  for  the  em;>- 
tiness  of  the  rain-swept  pia/.za.  She  must 


A     MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  179 

think  and  plan  in  solitude.  A  throb  of 
thankfulness  for  the  "  wonderful  Provi 
dence  "  that  had  put  the  coveted  clue  into 
her  hand  somewhat  cleared  her  wits.  She 
blessed  her  own  astuteness,  that  had  divined, 
«o  long  ago,  the  wrongness  of  what  every 
body  else  thought  right,  but  even  she  had 
not  thought  to  unseal  this  fuming  pit  of 
iniquity.  With  the  prompt  violation  of  prob 
abilities  typified  by  the  blind  running  of  a 
panic-stricken  draught-horse,  she  saw,  at 
once,  that  Major  Kane  was  this  creature'* 
wronged  and  deserted  husband !  Her  name 
was  not,  and  never  had  been,  Dumaresque. 
She  recalled  Emmett's  interrogative  pause 
before  naming  her,  on  the  first  evening  of 
their  meeting,  and  Mrs.  Gillette's  distinct 
and  officious  enunciation  of  the  false  title. 
Major  Kane,  also,  had  waited  for  the  arch- 
hypocrite  to  give  him  the  cue  when  she 
greeted  him  upon  the  tower  as  a  former  ac 
quaintance.  Clara  had  not  forgotten,  either, 
the  officer's  search  for  the  names  of  mother 
and  daughter  in  the  hotel  register,  and  his 
emoiion  upon  reading  them. 

Was   this  the  confession  poured  into  Em- 
nioU'.-;  ears  during  the  sail  to  St.  Ignace? 


ISO      WITH  YV//;  /;/•>/' 


••Yet  you  wear  your  wedding-ring?"  he 
luid  f)lxservc(l,  a;i<l  she  hud  answered,  "And 
always  shall!  (  hiee  married,  al  \vavs  mar 
ried  !  " 

With  what  tissue  of  lies  :  with  what  chican 
ery  of  seductive  deceit  she  had  wrought  in  ton 
an  upright  man  who  was  a  pure  woman's 
husband,  to  condone  her  guilt,  —  nay.  worse! 
tit  1'oivc  upon  his  wife  intimacy  with  this  dis 
grace  to  her  sex  ?  Chiefest  among  the  think 
er's  novel  sensations  was  the  consciousness 
of  personal  degradation.  She.  the  Christian 
child  of  Christian  parents,  guarded  against 
pollution  at  every  point  and  in  every  way. 
had  been  thrown  publicly  into  hourly  asso 
ciation  with  an  "abandoned  character" 
Her  innocence  and  her  social  standing,  the 
very  h-.nor  of  her  unblemished  \vifehood, 
were,  of  purpose,  used  to  whitewash  a  dam 
aged  reputation. 

"As  bad  as  bold!   as  bold  as  bad  !" 

The  caustic  alliteration  said  itself  over  and 
over  to  her  dialing  soul.  This  —  creature  — 
had  taunted  to  his  teeth  the  chivalric  and 
wronged  man  who  entreated  her  to  consent 

o 

to   a   divorce   that   might,  by  allowing  her  to 
marry  her  lover,  measurably  rehabilitate  her 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  181 

in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  She  evidently  "had 
.scruples  on  the  subject  of  divorce/'  Perhaps 
she  was  secretly  and  positively  a  Romanist, 
probably  a  Jesuit!  Like  a  Hash  of  light,  re 
curred  the  talk  upon  the  piazza  the  evening 
of  the  Morgans'  arrival,  and  the  story  of 
Father  Marquette,  told  tenderly,  over  IILS 
grave.  Such  looseness  of  leniency  toward  a 
false  faith  argued  no  good,  as  Mrs.  Cameron's 
pupil  daughter  should  have  known  and  acted 
upon  long  ere  this. 

Another  loathsome  thought  crawled  from 
the  horrible  pool  of  suspicion  and  conjecture 
to  goggle  mockingly  in  her  face.  The  wealthy 
'•eligible''  bachelor,  whose  dignified  courtesy 
and  unblemished  character  set  him  high  above 
the  wash  of  scandal  —  was  he  the  partaker  of 
the  guiltv  flight  of  ei"'ht  years  agone  ?  "Were 

f  O  O  t/  o 

his  reverential  admiration  and  Karen's  seem 
ing  insensibility  to  it  blinds  for  a  relation 
the  heaven-appointed  detective  blushed  in 
the  darkness  to  name  to  herself?  If  so, 
wlat  was  Mrs.  Gillette  —  putative  saint  and 
embryo  angel?  To  what  extent  was  Bertie 
Gates,  with  his  guileless  face  and  naive  talk, 
La  their  confidence  ? 

Restraining  the  frantic  impulse  to  awaken 


2     WITH   TUP:   /;/•;>•  r   IXTK 

tin;  invalid  and  communicate  the  awful  dis 
covery  that  so  nearly  affected  her  young 
daughter,  Clara  Morgan  calmed  down,  little, 
by  little,  to  her  normal  judicial  frame.  There 
were,  she  perceived,  upon  dispassionate  weight 
of  evidence,  what  would,  in  other  eyes.  be 
defects  in  the  tenuity  of  the  same. 

Site  might  Ite  positive  of  the  identity  of 
Major  Kane  with  ;he  bet  rayed  and  magnani 
mous  husband  of  Karen  Gillette.  Would 
the  mosaic  of  proof  she  had  titted  together 
convince  Kmmett.  beguiled  bv  svren  arts,  or 
Mrs.  Manlv.  whose  imprudence  in  trusting 
her  child  to  the  unprincipled  chaperon  had 
committed  her  to  battle  for  her  own  reputa 
tion  and  (Jem's  in  defending  that  of  Mrs. 
Dumaresque-Kane '.' 

The  web  was  wrought  with  diabolical  deft 
ness,  and  thev  were  all  in  it. 

At  ten  o'clock  (Jem  ran  in,  Mrs.  Manly 's 
maid  at  her  heels.  The  girl  was  profuse  in 
apologies  and  thanks.  There  had  been  danc 
ing  in  the  Casino,  and  time  had  sped  un 
noticed. 

"And  here  is  Mr.  Morgan,  haunting  parlors 
and  halls,  like  a  wandering  spirit  who  has  lost 
his  other  half!''  she  said,  looking  toward  the 
half-open  door. 


A    MIDSUMMEI1    EPISODE.  183 

Emmett  entered,  gratefully,  meeting  his 
wife  as  if  they  had  been  parted  for  a  month. 

u  Captain  and  Mrs.  Dale  came  down  just 
before  the  shower  to  call  upon  some  friends 
who  arrived  to-day,"  he  said.  "I  promised 
to  lind  you  and  brino-  yon  to  them/'  In  the 

«.  O       t' 

corridor  he  drew  her  hand  within  his  arm 
caressingly.  "•  You  are  pale,  dear.  You 
found  it  tedious  sitting  so  long  in  the  dark, 
I  am  afraid." 

u  I  did  not  mind  it/'  Clara  nerved  herself 
to  say.  u  I  was  glad  to  rest  a  little  while. 
Mrs.  Manly  slept  all  the  time.  Why!" 

The  ejaculation  was  elicited  by  the  sight 
of  Mrs.  Gillette,  enthroned  in  an  ami-chair, 
her  feet  upon  a  cushion,  and  surrounded  by 
congratulatory  friends,  the  Dales  among  them. 

Of  o 

"  Delightful,  isn't  it,  to  have  her  with  us 
again?"  said  Emmet,  blithely. 

"Has  she  been  here  all  the  evening?" 

"  Xo.  She  came  down  about  nine  o'clock 
and  took  everybody  by  surprise." 

Clara's  cheeks  tingled.  The  mother  then 
had  been  cognizant  of  the  tete-d-tete  granted 
to  the  estranged  husband  —  had  waited  to 
receive  the  report  of  it. 

She  could  not  be  cordial   to   the   fair  old 


l^i     WITH    THE  y;y;.sy   /  A"/'/-;  A"  770  .vs.- 

sinner,  and  turning  away  as  shortly  ;is  wa* 

consonant  with  bare  civility,  caught  a  gleam 
nf  surprised  disapproval  and  impiirv  from 
Kmmett.  This  was  suffering  for  righteous 
ness'  sake.  Spiritual  complacency  sustained 
her  voire  and  tempered  the  heat  ot  tlie  honest 
('anientn  blood.  In  raising  her  cool  green 
eves  to  ('aptain  Dale's  tare,  slie  looked  and 
felt  mistress  of  h"rself,  and  her  husltand's 
su[»erior  in  siiroir  f<tir<\  as  in  mural  instinct. 

"  !t  must  IH-  flattering  to  have  anv  one  so 
deoeiuleiit  upon  vmi  foi'  happiness  as  Mr. 
Morgan  seems  to  be."  remarked  tlie  gallant 
ollicer  after  a  few  minor  observations.  "He 
was  not  lnmselt  until  YOU  appeared.  Isn't 
that  true.  Mr.  Dates'.'  " 

"Super-gospelic  truth. "assented  tlie  eliei-uli. 
"He  lias  pro-o\vled  about  the  rooms  like  the 
d.i-serteil  1'leiad.  don't  you  know'/  If  Mrs. 
Dumaresquc  hadn't  ta-aken  him  in  ha-and.  lie 
\\-ould  have  made  a  specta-a-cle  of  himself, 
\  on  kno\\"  ?  " 

"Mrs.  Dumaresijue  !  "  echoed  Clara,  iuyol- 
untarilv.  "  Is  she  here  '/  " 

Following  the  eyes  of  the  two  men,  she 
beheld  the  incomparable  dissembler,  flushed, 
animated,  superbly  handsome  —  the  cynosure 


A    MIDSUMMEli    EPISODE.  185 

of  a  coterie  of  admirers  of  both  sexes.  She 
had  exchanged  the  black  gown  worn  upon 
the  piazza  for  a  soft  woolen  robe,  pale-gray 
in  color.  The  trained  skirt  was  paneled, 
and  the  sleeves  slashed  with  black  velvet ; 
die  pointed  vest  was  of  the  same  material, 
and  the  V-shaped  opening  below  the  throat 
was  tilled  with  rare  old  lace.  Deep  lace 
ruffles  fell  to  her  beautiful  wrists;  the  sweep 
ing  train,  the  slope  and  points  of  the  corsage, 
enhanced  her  stature  and  litheiiess.  Her  lips 
were  carmine  ;  her  complexion  was  rich  and 
warm. 

Presbyterian  Clara  thought  of  the  Scarlet 
Woman,  and  mentally  applied,  without  scru 
ple  or  charity,  the  most  strongly  flavored 
epithets  her  Biblical  memory  supplied  at  the 
call  of  indignant  virtue.  So,  to  her  appre 
hension,  might  Jezebel  have  looked  to  rude 
Jehu  with  her  "tired"  head  and  painted 
face,  and  the  audacious  radiance  of  her  mock 
ing  smile.  Had  her  life  depended  upon  abso 
lute  discretion,  the  wife  must  have  uttered 
her  next  sentence. 

"•  My  eyes  have  surely  played  me  tricks ! 
I  thought  I  saw  Mrs.  Dumaresque  deep  in 
talk  with  Major  Kane  upon  the  western 


\vrni   TIIK  JIKST  IMTJ-:MTIO\S  : 

}>i;i/.7.u.  just  in»\v,  and  she  \vas  dressed  in 
black."  ' 

"An  optical  illusion  !  "  smiled  the  Captain. 
"Sin1  lias  been  in  this  room  ever  since  \ve 
entered." 

"And  the  Major  and  Ronievn  have  l>een 
offering  up  burnt  sacritiees  in  the  smoking- 
room  for  the  better  pa-art  of  the  eveiiiiiL;'. 
don't  you  know?  "  put  in  Bertie,  la/.ily. 

Clara's  hand  went  up  to  her  throat.  The 
hysterical  grio  there  \vas  suffocating,  and 
her  temples  \vere  beating  like  a  drum.  The 
demoniacal  \viles  of  her  rival  and  eiiemv 
passed  belief.  An  uliki  could  be  proved  bv 
tit'tv  \\'it nesses  should  accusations  be  brought. 
Had  the  creature  seen  Clara,  or  suspected  \i 
listener,  in  glancing  into  the  darkened  room'.' 
Or  was  this  but  another  proof  that  she  \va.s 
never  off  guard,  and  ever  swift  with  expedi 
ents  for  defence  '.' 

"Well?"  said  Bertie,  his  mischievous  blue 
eyes  seeking  Mrs  Moi  Bail's.  Because  thev 
were  as  blue  and  as  ingenuous  as  a  babv's, 
thev  always  looked  straight  and  full  into  <  alier 
people's, — especiallv  into  a  prettv  woman's. 
••  Is  it  a  case  of  hallucination,  a  vision,  UT 
mistaken  identity  ?  " 


A  MID  su  WE  i;  EPISODE.          187 

The  malachite  eyes  stared  back  steadily. 

"  Hallucination,  probably.  I  never  dream 
with  my  eyes  open,  and  Mrs.  Dumaresque 
could  not  be  easily  mistaken  for  anybody  else, 
even  in  a  confidential  nook  upon  a  cloudy 
night.  Nor,  for  that  matter,  is  Major  Kane 
likely  to  be  confounded  with  another  man. 
Is  lie  stationed  at  the  Fort  ?  ?' 

With  an  off-hand  air  of  leaving  an  unim 
portant  topic  for  one  a  trifle  more  interesting, 
she  accosted  the  Captain. 

"  Oh,  no  !  lie  leaves  Mackinac  to-morrow, 
much  to  our  regret.  He  had  malarial  fever 
in  Florida  last  spring,  and  is  off  on  sick  leave 
still.  Most  men  of  his  means  would  resign, 
and  try  the  benefit  of  a  year  or  two  of  travel 
and  rest,"  was  the  ready  answer. 

"  He  dropped  into  something  ne*-eat  awhile 
ago  • — •  didn't  he  ?  "  inquired  Bertie,  who  had 
a  knack  of  picking  up  and  never  forgetting 
scraps  of  news. 

u  Six  or  seven  years  back,  I  think.  A  child 
less  uncle  left  him  his  heir  upon  condition 
that  he  should  take  his  name." 

"  Kane  is  not  his  real  name,  then  ! "  de 
manded  Clara,  with  uncalled-for  eagerness. 
"  What  was  ?  " 


188       WITH     THE    BEST 


"•  I  don't  recollect.  I  never  knew  him 
until  we  were  thrown  together  upon  the 
frontier  in  '84.  A  series  of  adventures,  some 
of  them  dangerous,  drew  us  rather  closely 
together  then  ;  hut  I  had  rot  seen  him  since; 
until  his  present  visit  to  Mackinac." 

Mrs.  Morgan  leaned  back  in  her  chair,  and 
toyed  abstractedly  with  the  tassel  of  her  fan 
until  Bertie  drifted  off  to  the  group  about 
Mrs.  Dumaresque.  Then  the  candid  hater  of 
subterfuge  asked,  raising  the  half-furled  fan 
to  hide  a  demi-yawn  which  drew  (.Vown  the 
facial  muscles  :  — 

"Is  Major  Kane  married'/" 

Captain  Dale  hesitated  slightly,  but  sus 
piciously,  before  answering.  Clara  played 
with  her  fan  while  waiting,  turning  it  over 
to  stroke  the  feathers  on  the  back  of  the 
elegant  toy. 

"His  wife  is  abroad.  I  believe.  1  have 
never  seen  her.  How  gav  the  rooms  are  t<w 
niglit  !  And  what  an  array  of  handsome 
women  !  Mackinac  outdoes  itself  this  season." 

Clara  began  to  comprehend  that  of  such 
stuff  as  her  hourlv  life  were  made  melo 
dramas  and.  sometimes,  tragedies.  A  daze 
and  fateful  flurry  were  upon  her  that  reminded 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  189 

her  of  shifting  scenes  and  foot-lights.  That 
no  striking  situations  might  be  lacking  to 
this  act,  at  'that  instant  Mr.  Komeyn,  side  by 
side  with  Major  Kane,  appeared  in  the  door 
way.  The  tall  soldier  was  as  tranquil  of 
niien  as  the  correct  society  man  as  they  made 
their  way  toward  the  spot  where  Mrs.  Duma- 
resque  stood,  facing  them. 

Unmindful  of  what  Captain  Dale  might 
think  of  the  brusque  action,  Clara  got  up, 
and  as  if  meaning  to  cross  the  room  to  speak 
to  some  one  opposite,  slipped  between  and 
behind  groups,  looking  bored  and  nonchalant, 
until  she  was  within  ear-shot  of  Karen.  The 
change  of  base  was  timely. 

"  As  I  leave  Mackinac  early  to-morrow," 
Major  Kane  was  saying  to  the  belle  of  the 
evening,  "  I  shall  have  no  better  opportunity 
than  this  to  make  my  adieux." 

"  I  am  afraid  the  Island  has  not  treated 
you  well  —  you  make  such  a  short  stay,"  re 
sponded  Karen's  gentlest,  most  gracious 
accents.  "  Let  us  hope  that  the  sea  will  be 
kinder.  When  do  you  sail?" 

"Next  week.  I  hope  much  from  the  sea 
air  and  change  of  scene.  Thank  you,  for 
your  good  wishes.  Good  by  !  " 


190       WITH    THE    VEST    L\TK.\TIO.\S  : 

She  put  her  hand  frankly  into  the  extended 
palm. 

"  (iood  night!  (Jood  bv,  and  Ion  i'o>/ti;js  .' 
May  you  have  fair  winds,  and  lind  health 
upon  the  waves.  1  envy  you." 

-Thanks:" 

He  bowed  low;  a  sad,  sweet  smile  leaving 
his  lips  to  linger  in  eves  that  rested  a  seeond 
upon  hers,  and  left  the  room  by  the  nearest 
door. 

"A  graceful  gentleman!"  observed  a 
woman  at  Mrs.  Dumaresque's  side. 

"Yes,"  answered  Karen,  ralnilv.  "He  i- 
a  line  specimen  of  the  best  type  of  our 
army-men." 

( 'lara  interposed  with  what  she  meant 
sin  ui Id  be  a  coup  dt:  </ra<-e. 

"I  hear"  —in  tones  so  thin  and  high  that 
they  shrilled  like  over-strung  wires  —  "that 
Major  Kane  goes  abroad  to  join  his  wife." 

Several  people  glanced  around  at  her. 

The  defiant,  triumphant  accent  was  like  a 
challenge1. 

Karen  was  politely  interrogative. 

"All?  He  said  nothing  of  his  intention 
to  me." 

Clara's  eyes  snapped  lire  against  the  im 
passive  ones  before  her. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  191 

"You  know,  however,  that  she  is  abroad?" 

"  It  is  quite  possible."     In  saying  it,  Mrs. 

Dumaresque  referred  smilingly  to  the    lady 

who    had    commented    upon    Major    Kane's 

bearing.     "  Almost  everybody  is  abroad  this 

summer.     Isn't  it   Sin   Saxon   in  Heal  Folks 

—  or  is  it  The  Other  Grirls?  —  who  calls  the 

stream  of  international  travel  'the  European 

siphon"?" 

The  patte  de  grace  was  a  failure. 


19:2     WITH    TIIK    ;;/•>•  r   i. \TK.\TIO.\S  : 


CHAPTKR    XIV. 

THE  four  davs  olosely  succeeding  the  iri^nt 
of  tin.'  thunder-shower  were,  to  Clara,  lon^ 
and  unsatisfactory.  Her  object  was  not 
forwarded  bv  the  fraction  of  a  decree.  A 
morning  spent  with  .Mrs.  Dale,  upon  her 
l>ree/.v  jiia//.a.  during  which  the  visitor  kept 
the  dialogue  resolutely  upon  army  people' 
and  arniv  reminiscences,  was  time  and  labor 
wasted.  Nor  could  she  decide  whether  her 
interlocutor  knew  too  much  to  lie  het  raved 
into  divulgations,  or  too  little  to  suspect 
thai  she  was  cross-examined.  She  was  earn 
est  in  praise  of  Major  Kane  as  man  and 
Mildier.  Inn  disclaimed  personal  acquaintance 
with  him  prior  to  his  frontier  introduction  to 
('aptain  Dale.  She  believed  that  lie  was 
married,  and  that  Mrs.  Kane  was  travelling 
somewhere  —  she  could  not  sav  where  —  with 
friends.  And  whi!.-  Clara  sat  mute  and 
thrilled,  in  an  a^onv  of  earnest  attention 


A    MIDSUMMER     EPISODE.  193 

the  amiable  lady  pursued  the  subject, 
airily  :  — 

•'  You  know,  my  dear  Mrs.  Morgan,  we 
army-women  must  go  abroad  as  grass-widows, 
if  we  would  enjoy  the  advantages  of  foreign 
travel.  Few  officers  can  afford  the  luxury  of 
an  ocean  voyage  en  famille,  even  by  paying 
for  the  privilege  with  a  tough  siege  of  mala 
rial  fever.  I  do  hope  Major  Kane  will  be 
improved  by  the  sea-voyage.  He  took  a  slow 
steamer  on  purpose." 

Of  Captain  Dumaresque  she  knew  even 
less  than  of  Mrs.  Kane.  No !  Captain  Dale 
had  no  list  of  dead  and  resigned  officers,  al 
though  such  a  register  was  kept  in  Washing 
ton,  and  could  be  consulted  by  the  curious  on 
such  subjects  —  of  course  by  obtaining  per 
mission  of  officials  there.  Nothing  could  be 

O 

done  without  red  tape,  etc.,  etc. 

This  was  on  Saturday,  and  as  Clara,  cha 
grined  and  bitter  at  the  scarcity  of  present 
providential  interpositions  on  the  side  of 
right,  went  down  the  zig-zag  steps,  a  riding 
party  of  four  cantered  by  the  foot  of  the 
staircase,  without  looking  in  her  direction. 
A  few  rods  further  on,  they  reined  up  to 
speak  to  n.  solitary  pedestrian. 


l'J4     WITH   THE  ni-:sr 


Clara  stopped  on  the  bottom  step,  herself 
unnoticed,  (Jem  and  Keltic  rode  together; 
Mrs.  Dumaresque  was  with  Mr.  Uomevn.  It 
y\as  at  lu-r  side  lliat  Kmmett  lingered.  his 
hand  upon  ihc  neck  of  her  liorse,  his  hand 
some  face,  bron/.ed  by  the  Island  winds.  up- 
lit'ted.  and  bright  as  1'roin  the  reflection  of 
hers.  Karen's  seat  in  tin:  saddle  was  perfect  : 
her  dark  ^rav  ludnt  fitted  to  a  ehaiin:  the 
r\velled  handle  of  her  wliip  scintillated  living 
';-!it.  While  he  chatted,  Kininett  took  it 
Iroin  her  hand  \\ith  easy  familiarity,  and  ex 
amined  it  admiringly.  Presently  lie  i;'a\e  ii 
an  incautious  llick  too  near  tin1  eyes  or  ear> 
of  the  >])iiited  liorse.  The  animal  reared  and 
shied  so  violently  that  the  rider  lost  her 
balance.  (iein  uttereil  a  lo\v  sei'eam  :  .Mr. 
Konieyn  thre\v  himself  from  the  saddle:  Hni- 
mett,  catching  at  the  bit,  \vas  lifted  (dear  oi't 
the  ground  liv  a  second  furious  plunge. 

It  was  over  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
(  dara  had  eanght  but  one  terrilied  breath 
when  Karen  was  steady  in  her  seat,  and  the 
trembling  steed  under  control.  Kmmett's 
\\diite,  shocked  face,  seen  the  more  distinctly 
because  his  hat  had  fallen  in  his  spring  for 
the  horse's  month,  was  the  one  feature  of  'he 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  195 

incident  stamped  upon  his  wife's  heart  and 
brain. 

Still  unobserved,  she  waited  until  the  dust 
raised  by  the  hoofs  was  laid,  and  she  lost  her 
husband's  retreating  form  at  a  turn  in  the 
road,  then  returned  to  the  hotel  by  a  more 
circuitous  route  than  he  had  taken,  carrying 
with  her  the  picture  of  the  countenance 
whose  livid  alarm  at  the  peril  of  the  woman 
with  whom  Emmett  had  dallied  by  the  way 
side  could  mean  but  one  thing. 

She  behaved  stran^elv  for  the  rest  of  the 

O          i/ 

day,  being  alternately  gay  and  pensive. 

Her  appetite  had  gone,  and  what  sleep 
visited  her  tear-sore  eyes  that  night  brought 
fever-dreams.  By  morning,  she  was  so  hag 
gard,  the  circles  under  her  eyes  were  so  dark, 
and  her  lips  so  dry,  that  Emmett  entreated 
her  to  keep  her  room,  at  least  until  she  had 
breakfasted. 

"  I  wonder,''  he  said,  ruefully,  his  ringers 
upon  the  pulse  he  did  not  know  how  to  count, 
•*if  the  air  here  disagrees  with  you.  Would 
you  like  to  leave  earlier  than  we  have 
arranged  to  do  ?  We  have  taken  these  rooms 
ioi  a  week  longer,  but  that  is  of  no  conse- 
e  where  your  health  is  concerned." 


lit*!     WITH    Tin:   /;/•> y   i\"j'h\\rio.\s : 

Softer  moisture  welled  up  in  tin-  poor 
\vt»n;m's  eyes.  lie  v/v/x  good  and  sweet  and 
dear,  this  whole-souled,  simple-hearted  hus 
band  of  hers  !  And  he  would  be  true  forever 
if  he  were  not  da/./.led  and  di/./.ied  by  the 
baleful  aits  of  the  temptress. 

••  \Ve  will  think  and  talk  of  that  to 
morrow."  the  words  stumbling  over  a  bi^ 
sob.  "  I  don't  believe  it  is  the  ail1,  but  it 
isn't  my  way  to  be  irritable  and  depressed.  1 
am  ashamed  of  uivself.  I  will  try  to  behaye 
more  like  a  sensible  woman,  and  less  like  a 
spoiled  child  !  " 

Kmniett  aided  her  to  maintain  the  resolu 
tion  by  affectionate  assiduity  of  attention. 
Seeing  her  bent  upon  going  to  ehureli,  he 
ordered  a  carriage  to  spare  her  unnecessary 
tatigue.  and  in  his  very  manner  of  helping 
her  in  and  out  of  the  vehicle,  made  her  con- 
scions  that  his  every  thought  was  for  her 
comfort  and  happiness. 

The  Gillettes  were  not  in  church  that  day. 
The  mother  had  had  a  bad  night  and  slept 
late,  and  th>-  daughter  would  not  leave  her. 
Karen's  absence  was  an  unspeakable  relief  to 
Clara's  tired  nerves.  She  found  voice  r:.d 
inclination  to  unite  in  the  choral  se"  vice,  and, 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  197 

upon  her  knees,  felt  a  healthful  tide  of  ten 
derness  rising  in  her  heart  for  him  who  bowed 
beside  her,  joining  his  reverent  tones  with 
hers,  and  of  gratitude  to  Him  who  had 
crowned  her  life  with  a  good  man's  love  — 
which  Hooded  out  of  sight  the  wrecks  and 
reefs  of  the  past  week. 

"  0  G-od !  ichose  never-failing  Providence 
ordereth  all  things,  both  in  heaven  and  earth; 
ice  humbly  beseech  Thee  to  put  away  from  us 
all  hurtful  things,  and  to  give  us  those  things 
•which  are  profitable  for  us,  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord  !  " 

The  formula  recalled  her  wandering 
thoughts,  striking  a  vibrative  chord  that 
brought  a  flood  of  tears.  "With  head  bowed 
and  face  hidden  in  her  hands,  she  remained 
kneeling,  unconscious  that  the  others  had 
arisen  for  the  psalm ;  unheeding  everything 
but  the  cry  of  her  soul  into  the  Father's  ear. 

"All  hurtful  things!"  This  cruel  thing, 
that  was  fretting  into  the  fair  fabric  of  her 
happiness,  this  vile  thing  that  threatened  to 
lead  her  beloved  into  sin !  Being  in  an 
agony,  she  prayed  as  she  had  never  prayed 
in  her  even,  happy  girl-life ;  besought  the 
All-merciful  for  the  removal,  ly  any 


198       \\TfIT     TIIK     11KXT    7A'77-;A'770A'>1: 

of  tin;  needless  cross  laid  upon  her  tender 
.^boulder,  —  and  forgot  to  add  "If  it  be  Thy 
will!" 

AVhen  they  left  the  church,  her  face  was 
sweet  and  fair  with  the  "clear  shining  after 
rain."  The  fervent  praver  of  faith  had 
wrought  its  specific  effect  in  exaltation  of 
the  suppliant  spirit  to  the  Mount  of  Vision. 
She  felt  anxH'i'/'ftl  already. 

The  tranquil,  chastened  mood  lasted  long. 
Meeting  Mrs.  (lillette  and  Karen  at  dinner, 
she  talked  kindly  and  cheerfully  with  both. 
Since  the  "hurtful  thing"  would  surely  be 
removed,  she  could  forgive  it  as  an  enemv, 
ah/ti.'.if  prav  for  it  as  a  despiteful  agencv. 

Among  the  unfashionable  people  whom 
Mrs.  Dumaresque  had  "taken  up"  —not 
patronizingly,  but  evidently  because  they  in 
terested  and  pleased  her  —  was  a  family  from 
a  hill  township  in  central  New  England,  who 
had  now  been  at  the  great  new  hotel  for  a 
week.  The  father  was  a  country  storekeeper, 
a  Justice  of  tlu;  Peace,  and  a  deacon.  II is 
liver  was  out  of  order,  and  Mackinac  air  had 
been  prescribed.  lie  brought  with  him  his 
wife  and  two  daughters.  Karen,  coming  one 
day  upon  the  younger  girl,  as  she  was  gath- 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  199 

ering  some  sweet-brier  buds  from  a  wayside 
bush  "for  sister  to  paint,"  discovered  that 
she  was  a  bonnie  and  bright  lass  in  spite  of 
her  shyness  and  country-made  clothes.  Using 
her  as  a  key  to  acquaintanceship  with  the  rest 
of  the  family,  she  learned  other  pleasant  and 
surprising  things. 

The  mother  was  a  graduate  of  the  Boston 
Normal  School,  and  had  educated  her  chil 
dren. 

"  There  are  not  three  women  in  this  hotel 
who  are  more  refined  and  intelligent  than 
Grace,  the  elder  daughter,"  said  Karen  to 
her  mother  that  Sunday  noon.  "  Yet,  since 
her  gowns  have  not  the  French  fit,  and  be 
cause  the  whole  family  bear  the  stamp  of  a 
rusticity  which  is  a  thousand  removes  from 
vulgarity,  they  are  neglected  and  ridiculed. 
There  is  pathos  in  the  fact  —  and  consolation, 
too, — that  none  of  them  except  Grace  sus 
pect  that  they  are  ostracized.  Mrs.  Wilkes 
enters,  with  modest  freedom,  into  conversa 
tion  with  merchant  princesses  and  railway 
queens.  I  heard  her  tell  a  knot  of  them  last 
night  that  '  George  had  been  solicited  to 
stand  for  the  Legislature  this  fall,  and  she 
hoped  he  would,  Tom  being  old  enough  now 


'200      \vrnr  mi-:  /;/•:>•'/•  Avvy^vr/o.v.s: 

to  take  care  of  the  store,  and  there  was  such 
crying  need  for  Christian  legislators!' ' 

"The  New  England  independence  that  is 
content  to  hold  its  own,  and  is  too  thoroughly 
kneaded  up  with  self-respect  to  degenerate 
into  self-consciousness  or  to  hecome  aggres 
sive,  is  xnprrfi  '.  " 

That  evening,  Mrs.  \Vilkes,  who  was  or 
ganist  in  the  church  >%  at  home,"  sat  down  to 
the  piano  in  the  almost  deserted  drawing-room, 
and  began  playing  Moodv  and  Sankev  tunes. 

"Sing  something  —  won't  you?"  said  a 
fun-loving-at-any-expense  vouth.  lounging  in 
from  the  corridor  after  two  girls  of  like  si  amp. 
••  \Ve  were  just  wishing  for  some  sacred 
music." 

"  We  alwavs  sing  on  Sahhath  evenings  at 
home,"  said  Mrs.  \Vilkcs,  in  her  provincial 
accent,  her  mild,  broad  face  lighting  up  al 
meeting  with  a  sympathetic  spirit.  "  \Ve 
have  a  nice  quartette  of  our  own,  when  my 
son  is  willi  us  to  supplv  ;i  tenor." 

"But  you  have  a  trio  here!"  exclaimed 
the  girls.  '-Do  sing  for  us  !  It  would  be 
too  lovelv  !  " 

Mrs.  Dumaresque,  coming  down  stairs  after 
seeing  her  mother  comfortable  in  bed,  beheld 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  201 

a  crowd  massed  about  the  front  windows.  It 
was  a  heaving,  tittering,  ill-mannered  mass, 
and  Bertie,  meeting  her  with  Gem,  reported 
the  attraction  to  be  the  Wilkes  family. 

"  Who  are  giving  a  free  concert,  you  kno\v, 
wit! i  that  conceited  co-ompound  of  ca-alf  and 
ca-ad,  Compton  of  Chica-ago,  don't  you  know? 
as  sta-age  ma-anacrer.  lie  and  his  o-a-ane: 

o  o  o  o 

must   be  ha-ard  up  for  ga-ame,  be  Jawve  !" 

When  angry,  the  cherubic  always  worked 
the  drawl  unmercifully. 

"I  should  think  so,  indeed!"  ejaculated 
Karen.  "  I  thought  even  him  too  much  of  a 
man  to  press  that  sort  of  material  into  ser 
vice.  Such  exhibitions  disgust  one  with  pro 
fessional  society  people." 

"It's  be-eastly,  of  course,  you  know,"  re 
joined  Bertie  to  Gem's  outburst  of  reproba 
tion.  "There's  one  comfort,  though.  The 

O 

Wilkeses  won't  lind  out  that  they  are  the 
laughter  of  fools  and  the  song  of  the  dru-unk- 
ard,  don't  you  know?  —  unless  somebody  tells 
them.  There  goes  "I Fold  the  Fort"!  I 
heard  Co-ompton  a-arsk  for  it,  as  I  left- 
Hear  the  audience  appla-ud  !  There's  a  ea-at- 
call  from  the  ga-allery,  be  .Jawve!  " 

"Disgraceful —  isn't    it?''    observed    Em- 


'20-2        WITir   THE   BEST  IXTh'.\TI().\*  : 

nu'tt,  who  was  promenading  with  his  wife 
upon  the  lower  end  of  tin1  portico,  left  clear 
bv  the  crowd. 

v>h  is  unfortunate  that  they  should  have 
subjected  themselves  to  it."  said  Clara,  coolly 
compassionate.  "('an  v<»u  imagine  any  one 
IRMIIL;'  so  unsophisticated?  " 

Karen  stood  in  the  strong  light  pouring 
througli  the  wid.-  doors  of  the  rotunda.  Her 
cheeks  were  flushed,  her  eves  troubled. 

••It  Imrtx  me,  through  and  through!" 
Clara  heard  her  sav,  as  the  Morgans  con 
tinued  their  walk.  k-  I  like  and  respect 
that  i'amilv.  If  this  <_n>es  on  much  longer. 
I  am  afraid  that  I  shall  get  furi»vs*  and  in 
sult  some  do/ens  of  people!" 

••  Whni  YOU  are  readv  to  begin,  com-ma-and 
us,  won't  you?"  begged  Bertie. 

At  their  next  upper  turn,  the  Morgans 
noticed  a  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  un 
mannerly  press  about  the  windows.  An  ex 
pectant  kt  ,S'//-.-7/-.s7/ /  "  was  passed  from  centre 
to  wings:  jeers  wen-  silenced  or  whispered. 
The  central  corridor,  too,  was  tilling  fast  as 
the  Morgans  gained  the  drawing-room  door, 
moved  by  the  general  curiosity  to  see  what 
was  LToinuf  on. 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  203 

Karen  and  her  faithful  three  were  con 
versing  with  the  performers.  Mrs.  Wilkes, 
modestly  complacent  and  fairly  radiating 
summer  heat,  beamed  up  in  Mrs.  Duma- 
resque's  face  from  the  music  stool ;  Mr. 
Wiikes,  gaunt,  sallow,  and  raw-boned,  in  a 
ready-made  Sunday  suit,  smiled  down  at 
her  from  an  altitude  of  six  feet  three.  His 
broadcloth  made  sarcastic  revelation  of  an 
gular  shoulder  blades  and  big  elbows;  lower 
jaw  and  chin  were  squarely  relieved  against 
a  throat  fringe  of  black  whiskers.  While 
Karen  talked  she  laid  a  caressing  hand 
against  the  blushing  cheek  of  sensitive  Grace ; 
twelve-year-old  Amy  pressed  timidly  nearer 
to  the  lady  upon  the  other  side.  Both  young 
faces  were  perturbed  and  uneasy. 

"It  is  an  imposition,  I  know,''  Karen  was 
saying.  "  The  room  is  stilling,  and  you  have 
been  so  long  at  the  piano.  But  if  you  will 
give  us  one  more  old  favorite,  and  let  us  help 
you  sing  it,  I  pledge  my  word  that  nobody 
shall  ask  you  for  another  note." 

"  Oh,  we  are  not  fatigued,"  returned  Mrs. 
Wilkes,  briskly;  "we  sing  for  hours  at  home. 
On  choir-meeting  nights,  you  know." 

"  But  not  in  such  an  atmosphere  as  this .' 


'204:     \vrni   THE   I:EST  I.\TJ-:.\TIO.\S  : 

I  ;un  scllisli  enough  tn  beg  for  inv  one  livnin. 
After  tliat  I  shall  stand  guard  over  you  and 
refuse  all  other  applicants." 

Her  selection  was  "Nearer,  My  (rod,  to 
Thee!" 

The  air  to  \vhich  the  immortal  lyric  is 
wedded  beyond  the  possibility  of  divorce  is. 
happily,  one  which  no  amount  of  misuse  can 
wear  threadbare.  At  the  second  line  Karen's 
quartette  took  up  the  strain.  Fiftv  voices 
joined  them  on  the  third.  When  thev  bewail 

*J  «  O 

the  second  verse,  evervbodv  sang.  The  rush 
ot  melody  flooded  corridors  and  piazzas, 
bearing  down  com  entionality,  frivolity,  and 
self-consciousness,  billowed  against  the  lot'tv 
roof  of  the  portico,  and  escaping  resonantly, 
bounded  upward  to  the  stars. 

The  voices  of  old  men  and  maidens  were 
blended  in  holv  rapture:  VOUIILT  men  cast 


dren  in  their  beds,  the  colored  waiters  in  the 
far  (lining-rooni,  fishermen  in  their  craft 
alongshore  —  one  and  all  —  tonic  up  tune  and 
words.  To  this  dav.  h<il>ituf8  of  and  dwellers 
upon  the  Island  will  tell  von  of  the  still 
August  Sundav  night,  when  strait  and  lake 
and  the  sky  they  reflected  seemed  to  listen 


A   MIDSUMMER  EPISODE.  205 

while     everything     that    had     breath     sang 
"  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee  !  " 

Not  even  Mr.  Wilkes,  facing  the  throng  to 
beat  time,  at  the  full  length  of  his  gaunt 
arm,  his  face,  ablaze  with  heat  and  pious 
ardor,  dripping  like  Aaron's  beard,  could  mar 
the  solemnity  of  song  and  scene.  The  elec 
tric  lights,  pendent  between  the  columns  and 
swinging  in  the  musical  surge,  illumined  five 
hundred  faces  upraised  to  heaven  in  the  clos 
ing  stanza :  — 

"  Or,  if  on  joyful  wing, 

Cleaving  the  sky, 
Sun,  moon,  and  stars  forgot, 

Upward  I  fly, 

Still  all  my  song  shall  be  — 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee ! 

Nearer  to  Thee  !  " 

The  echoes  of  the  conjubilant  waves  still 
rose  and  fell  in  Clara  Morgan's  cars,  when 
she  knelt  beside  her  bed  to  pray  for  forgive 
ness  of  sins  and  protection  during  the  dark 
hours,  and,  most  fervently  of  all,  once  again, 
that  the  "hurtful  thing"  might  be  put  away 
from  her. 


3-OC       WITH    THE    JiEST    IXTEXTIONS  : 


('II AFTER    XV. 

AY  mornings  wen1  apt  to  go  heavily 
for  tilt,-  habitual  loungers  upon  tin-  hotel 
pia/./.a.  Departures  were  numerous  and  ar 
rivals  few,  until  the  afternoon  boats  filled 
up  deserted  rooms.  Husbands  and  brothers 
chose-  the  dav  for  yachting  and  fishing  parties, 
or  were  oil'  betimes  for  llu-  eitv  and  week-day 
work. 

The  day  being  line  and  gossips  gregarious, 
they  knotted  into  busking  groups  along  tin- 
front  of  the  big  khan,  some  with  a  pretence 
of  employment,  others  with  none  except  "  to 
take-  the  air  and  sunshine."  For  this  thev 
had  come  to  Mackinac,  and  the  "taking 
afforded  a  pretext  for  doing  nothing  else. 

Mrs.  (iillette  had  her  knitting,  and  Mrs. 
Dumaresque  her  book,  in  the  wide  curve  of 
the  portico  that  gave  them  the  view  up  and 
down  the  Straits.  Into  this  generous  space 
(irace  Wilkes  had  brought  easel,  drawing- 
board,  and  color-box,  and  was  engrossed  in  a 


A    J/7    XVMMEH    EPISODE.  207 

sketch  of  the  arbor-vitse  grove  and  fountain, 
•\vith  Round  Island  in  the  distance.  Every 
body,  excepting  the  two  women  nearest  the 
country  girl,  set  down  her  occupation  and 
apparent  absorption  in  it  to  a  desire  to  dis 
play  her  accomplishment.  Three-fourths  of 
the  spectators  sneered  at  her  obvious  vanity  ; 
the  remaining  quarter  pitied  her  ignorance 
of  the  best  methods  of  showing  off  without 
seeming  to  do  it. 

Clara  Morgan,  seated  at  the  open  front 
window  of  Mrs.  Manly's  room,  scanned  the 
group  of  three  with  judicial  disapprobation. 
Mrs.  Dumaresque  had  savoir  faire,  however 
deficient  her  porte</ee  might  be  in  that  prime 
essential  of  polite  society.  Clara  felt  that, 
were  she  in  the  place  of  the  patroness,  she 
would  insinuate  to  the  girl  what  mortifying 

O  i/  Q 

misconstruction  might  be  put  upon  her 
present  location  and  occupation  by  lookers- 
oil.  Karen  was  spoiling  the  unsophisticated 
Wilkeses,  instead  of  correcting  their  foibles 
and  primitive  ideas.  It  would  be  truer  kind 
ness  to  let  them  learn  wisdom  by  bitter  experi 
ences.  Her  only  conceivable  motive  for  this 
misjudged  indulgence  was  the  lust  for  adula 
tion  from  any  and  every  source,  which,  as  Mrs. 


208     WITH    THE   /;/-;>T   I.\TK.\TIO.\S  : 

Morgan  had  discerned  long  ago,  was  the 
leading  principle  and  passion  of  the  mere 
tricious  worldling.  As  was  her  custom  while 
her  mother  took  htT  morning  sun-bath,  Karen 
read  toller  in  a  subdued  tone,  remitting  the 
ta.^k,  no\v  and  thru,  to  comment  upon  the 
l»ook  or  make  a  remark  to  (iraee.  who  lis 
tened  to  the  reading  while  washing  in  blues, 
grays,  and  greens.  It  was  in  one-  ot  these 
intervals  that  Karen  saw,  bearing  down  npon 
the  quiet  nook,  such  a  body  of  fashionably 
attired  women,  so  palpably  animated  bv  a 
common  interest,  that  she  looked  her  amused 
surprise.  Prominent  in  the  van  ot  the  depu 
tation  was  a  lar^e.  loud,  and  lavish  Cali- 
fornian,  a  recent  arrival,  but  already  gar 
rulously  an  <-onr<int  with  everything  and 
everybody  in  the  hotel. 

Gem  had  complained  of  her  in  Clara's  hear 
ing  as  u  snperhuinanly  pervasive,"  and  Karen, 
to  whom  the  speech  was  made,  had  laughed 
at,  instead  of  reproving  the  flippant  lling. 
Clara  recalled  the  phrase  against  her  will,  as 
the  portly  matron  swam  up  to  Mrs  Dunia- 
resqiie,  all  dimple  and  giggle,  an  open  paper 
in  her  hand. 

"  Dearest  AU-.s.  Dumaresque !  such  a   lind! 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  209 

The  sweetest  little  piece  of  poetry  —  floatin' 
on  the  breeze  like  a  feather  from  the  wino; 

O 

of  a  fairy  !  Mackinac  is  a  wonderful  place  ! 
And  we  all  said  —  at  once  — •  that  you  —  must 
read  it  aloud  —  to  vis.  Nobody  — else  can  do 
it  —  justice  !  " 

If  the  reader  will  substitute  a  giggle  for 
each  dash,  and  a  long-drawn  breath  of  hys 
terical  rapture,  rising  into  a  crescendo  steam- 
whistle,  for  the  final  exclamation  point,  the 
effect  of  the  address  may  be  feebly  imagined. 

Karen  took  the  sheet  from  the  hand  which 
shook  with  affected  laughter. 

"  A  fugitive  poem  !  Who  gives  me  the 
right  to  read  it  ? "  turning  the  leaf  to  see 
that  it  was  unsigned  and  undated. 

u  Oh,  the  vox  populy  !  "  giggled  the  chair 
woman.  "All  of  us,  in  a  body  !  I've  run  it 
over.  Come!  Commencez!"1 

Suspecting  some  witless  trick,  Karen  hesi 
tated  to  comply  until  reassured  on  this  point 
by  a  glance  along  the  lines.  They  were 
pencilled  in  a  round  hand,  like  a  man's  for 
character  and  legibility. 

The  little  crowd  drew  up  about  her,  hus 
tling  and  winking  at  one  another  as  she 
bewail :  — 


210       WITH    'HE    ISEST    J.v 

E  '.    .I.Y    MoUMMi     AT     M.VCKINAC.1 

Night  yields  to  morning,  and  the  fairy  island  sleeps 
On  Huron's  placid  breast.     The  fleecy  covering, 
"U  hieh  water-sprites  with  magic  lingers  nightlv  weave, 
Cloves  lightly  on  the  gently  throbbing  waves,  as  moves 
The  drapery  o'er  the  sleeping  form  of  one  we  love. 
The  birds  within  the  arbor-vit;e  groves  begin, 
In  piping  notes,  to  tell  the,  near  approach  of  day. 
The  bree/.es  bring  sweet  odors  from  the  pine-clad  rocks, 
And  fling  the  fragrant  incense  o'er  tin;  ijuiet   lake. 
Phiebus  with  laughing  eve  looks  on  the  drowsy  East, 
Which  straightway  blushes  as  a  maiden  innocent. 
And  smiling  leaves  her  couch  to  greet  the  coming  god. 
The  fort  upon  the  hill  as  yet  shows  naught  of  life. 
Its  white  walls  looming  up  like  spectres  of  the  past, 
Hoary  with  history,  and  strong,  yet  beautiful. 
The  boats  at  anchor  in  the  bay  are  touched  with  light. 
Hois  Hlaiic  appears;  its  forest  in  the  distance  seems 
A  hold,  deejv-graven  line  made  by  a  master's  hand. 
Above,  y,i\\\  lighter  touch,  Aurora  paints  the  clouds, 
While  earth  and  vapor,  lake  and  sky  unite 
To   form    this   charming,   changing,   ever-brightening 

scene. 
And  now  the  far-off  light  that  flashed  throughout  the 

night 

To  guide  the  mariner  goes  out:   the  stars  that  shone 
With  equal  brilliancy  from  higher  towers  grow  faint. 
The  heavy  shadows  of  the  night  are  rolled  away. 
The  misty  curtains  part  and  leave  the  lake  revealed. 
To  clothe  its  lovely  form  in  well-becoming  dress, 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  2li 

The  sky  throws  down  a  robe  of  blue,  flecked  o'er  with 

gold. 

The  trees,  along  the  shore,  in  varying  shades  of  green 
Embroider  it,  and  as  the  morning  light  breaks  full 
Over  Lake  Huron,  still  upon  its  breast  is  seen, 
Like  purest  emerald,  the  Island  Mackinac. 

Only  Mrs.  Gillette  had  seen  the  vivid  red 
that  bathed  Grace  Wilkes's  face  at  sisfht  of 

o 

the  Avritten  paper ;  her  convulsive  clutch  of 
her  brush  ;  the  swift,  frightened  glance  at  the 
treacherous  portfolio  on  the  floor  at  her  side. 
But  as  Karen  lowered  the  sheet  with  the 
last  words,  a  glimpse  of  the  averted  face, 
bent  over  the  drawing-  until  only  a  line  of 
scarlet  cheek  showed  below  the  burning  ear, 
told  her  all. 

"  It  is  graphic  and  graceful,"  she  remarked, 
slowly,  seeming  still  to  scan  the  handwriting. 
"  We  are  indebted  to  the  nameless  poet  who 
has  let  us  read  it  here  in  sight  of  wrhat  he 
has  described  so  well." 

"  Hearken  !  listen  to  her !  "  screamed  the 
Californian,  clapping  her  hands  and  bounding 
from  one  foot  to  the  other  until  the  floor 
trembled.  "  Very  well  done,  Mrs.  Inno 
cence  !  But  it  don't  go  down.  Everybody 
knows  who  the  de  Stael "  (she  said  "  dee 


212     WITH   THE   /;/•;>'/'  I.\TE.\TIO.\S  : 

Stale")    "(if    the    fairy    isle   is.      Come,   own 
U]i!      Make  a  "clane  breast'  of  it.  mv  dear." 

"What  fools  women  can  make  of  them 
selves!"  muttered  Clara,  in  strong  disgust, 
while  Mrs.  Manlv,  attracted  bv  the  tumuli, 
rai.M-d  herself  from  her  cushions  to  peer  over 
her  kinswoman's  shoulder. 

Karen  may  have  been  nearer  of  like-  mind 
with  her  ill-wisher  than  the  latter  dreamed, 
while  the  shrill-voiced  chorus  beat  their 
palms  together,  and  cried,  the  one  upon  the 
other,  after  the  manner  of  the  pr<>  tcntjiure 
leader. 

"  You  cannot  mean,"  Mrs.  Dumaresque's 
full  tones  making  themselves  audible  through 
rather  than  above  the  hubbub  —  "  vou  do  not 
suppose  —  -really  —  that  /am  the  author  of 
these  lines?" 

In  the  energy  of  denial  she  had  arisen. 
Otherwise,  the  effusive  chairwoman  would 
have  cast  herself  upon  her  neck.  As  it 
was,  she  caught  her  bv  the  shoulders,  and 
shook  her  playfully  in  repeating,  "  Don't  — 
be  —  over-modest  —  vou  —  dear  —  ifted  - 


"Indeed,   Mi's.   Liggon,   it   is   not  modesty 
that   makes   me   truthful.     I    could  no  moic 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  213 

do  such  a  bit  of  word-etching  than  I  could 
scale  that  cloud  overhead.  I  never  wrote  a 
line  of  poetry  in  my  life  !  " 

"  But  she  looks  and  talks  and  lives  it ! '" 
cried  Mrs.  Manly,  explosively,  across  Clara's 
shuddering  back.  "  Won't  somebody  bring 
that  poem  to  me  ?  I  didn't  hear  more  than 
half  of  it;  and  my  fair  Corinne  must  posi 
tively  read  it  again  for  my  especial  and 
individual  benefit ! " 

The  Gillettes  did  not  return  to  the  piazza 
after  Cleopatra's  behest  was  obeyed,  and, 
awhile  later,  Clara  was  "'  happened  upon  "  by 
Mrs.  Liggon,  seated  in  the  shaded  upper 
corner  of  the  promenade,  busy  with  her  pale 
buff  doylies. 

"  I  have  been  lookin'  for  your  friend,  Mrs. 
Dumaresque,"  said  the  millionairess,  drop 
ping  into  a  chair,  and  reaching  forward  for 
a  iinished  square.  "  TTow  beautiful  you  em 
broider!  I've  just  heard  how  she  spells  her 
name  ;  and  I  want  to  ask  if  she's  connected, 
or  related,  or  anything,  with  a  lieutenant  in 
the  army,  who  pronounced  his  '  Dewo'ick.' 
Such  a  lovely  fellow!  Jo — that's  my  First 
—  had  a  ranch  in  New  Mexico,  and  I  lived 
there  three  years  before  he  died  —  poor,  dear 


214       H777/     THE    JiKST    L\TK\TIOXS: 

man  !  Iteiu'  of  a  consumptive  habit,  and  what 
u  mercy  I  didn'  ketch  it  from  him — and  me 
so  voting  to  !«.'  a  \vido\v  !  So  this  Lieutenant 
Demarick  and  his  company  were  rampagin' 
the  eountrv  for  Injuns,  and  poor,  dear  Jo 
invitt-d  him  to  stay  at  our  house.  He  was 
with  us  hetter'n  a  fortnight.  The  hand 
somest  thin^  I  ever  beheld  witli  these  mortal 
eyes  !  and  how  anv  woman  could  run  awav 
from  him  is  more'n  /  can  understan' ;  but 
thev  il'i  say  that  to  he  the  ease!" 

Clr.ra  was  so  white  that  the  few  freckles 
dotting  the  bridge  of  her  nose  eame  sallowlv 
into  prominence.  The  hands  holdinir  stuff 

1  O 

and  needle  were  ice-cold  and  damp. 

"An  oilicer,  did  yon  say?"  Her  voice 
sounded  to  herself  no  louder  than  her  heart- 
heats.  "When  was  this?" 

••Oh,  I  never  remember  dates!"  carelessly. 
"A  few  vears  av;o.  lie  was  splendiferous! 
Tall.  dark,  straight  as  an  arrow,  and  with 
the  divinest  smile  and  gallantest  wavs  !  " 

Clara  took  a  long  breath  to  earrv  her 
through  the  next  question. 

"Had  lie  a  scar  upon  the  left  jaw?  I 
think  I  mav  have  seen  him  —  once.' 

"Not  when   I  knew   him,  mv  dear.      I  did 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  215 

hear,  though,  that  his  company  was  quite  cut 
to  pieces  soon  after  he  left  us.  I  didn'  know 
as  lie  wasn'  killed  himself  'till  last  year, 
when  I  met  an  officer  in  S'  Frisco  who  told 
me  there  was  some  shady  story  'bout  poor 
Appoller-Ad-onis  Demarick,  an'  his  wife  had 
skipped  with  another  man  —  or  —  my  !  but 
ain't  this  doyly  a  daisy  !  " 

"  Apolleraddonis,"  repeated  literal  Clara. 
"What  an  odd  name!" 

"You  delicious  Article!''  shrieked  Mrs. 
Liggon.  "  Ain't  that  too  rich  !  Why  don't 
you  call  him  '  Apollinaris,'  and  be  done  with 
it?" 

She  beat  her  knees  with  her  large  hands, 
and  went  from  one  strangling  fit  of  laughter 
into  another,  until  Clara  was  red  with  con 
fusion  and  displeasure. 

"  One  hears  of  such  extraordinary  names  !  " 
she  said,  when  the  other  could  listen.  "  De 
marick  seems  such  a  strange  —  an  incredible 
pronunciation  of  Dumaresque,  that  my  mis 
take  is  natural.  You  are  sure  as  to  the 
spelling'?" 

"Sure  as  that  my  name  is  Liggon,  and 
used  to  be  McCarthy.  Seth  —  that's  my 
Second  —  he  and  me  took  a  Youropeiau 


216       WITH     THE    BEST    I.\Th\\TIOXS  : 

towrr  on  our  wedden'  trip,  an'  our  banker  in 
K<>me  s[ it-It  liis  nan ir.  I ).  u.  in,  a,  r,  e,  s.  q.  u.  e, 
and  pronounced  it  /A  ,/i'tric/c.  I  recollect  it, 
because  I  always  thought  when  I  saw  it 
on  cheques  an'  things,  of  pour  —  Appoller- 
<(<.! » u i$.'  " 

(iurgle  and  bubble  and  squeak  recom 
menced.  Clara  restrained  justiliahle  ire. 

"How  old  would  \'oiir  handsonu-  Lieuten 
ant  lie  liy  now  7  " 

The  (jiiestion  was  unlucky:  Mrs.  McCar- 
tliy-Liggon  had  reasons  (lichind  mn^e  and 
pearl-powder)  for  discretion  as  to  dates. 

"O-li-h  !  P'raps  thirty,—  T'l'aps  thirty-tiye  ! 
If  there  aint  Seth  waitin'  for  nie  in  the  ear- 
liage  !  M  v  !  won't  I  ketch  it  for  be  in'  behind 
time  I  " 

Clara  was  left  to  her  embroidery  and  a  new 
clue. 

The  wind  blew  strongly  all  ni^ht.  Cinsts 
ol  rain  whipped  the  piazza  floor  ;  the  windows 
of  Clara  Morgan's  room  rattled  litfully.  Too 
nervous  to  sleep,  sin1  aro:-.e  at  t\\o  o'clock, 
opened  the  blinds,  and  sat  by  the  easement 
until  dawn  glanced  timidly  upon  waters 
roughened  b\-  much  beatinir  into  swirliii'' 

i  O  O 

troughs  and  yeasty  lines. 


.1     MIDXUMMEE    EPISODE.  217 

She  was  very  miserable.  Her  sheltered, 
uneventful  life  had  not  fitted  her  to  cope  with 
complications  of  passion  and  mystery.  A  hor 
ror  of  loneliness  gat  hold  of  her  spirit;  an 
overweening  sense  of  helplessness,  very  piti 
able  in  one  who  had  so  lately  avowed  herself 
perfectly  liappv.  She  was  as  tear-washed  and 
wan  as  the  young  day  when  she  crept  back  to 
bed  and  buried  her  face  in  the  pillow  with  a 
sobbing  whisper :  — 

"  Mamma !  if  I  could  only  see  mamma  for 
one  half-hour !  " 

It  was  nine  o'clock  when  she  awoke.  She 
was  alone,  and  the  door  of  the  sitting-room 
was  shut.  At  the  sound  she  made  on  open 
ing  the  blinds,  Emmett's  anxious  face  ap 
peared.  He  had  listened  eagerly  for  token  of 

O  «/ 

her  awakening.  The  outer  room  was  pathet 
ically  orderly  when  one  considered  that  he 
had  arranged  it,  and  a  table,  drawn  up  to  the 
window,  with  two  chairs  set  well  under  it, 
foreshadowed  a  tete-d-tete  breakfast. 

Rewarded  by  her  pale  smile  for  waiting  and 
work,  the  husband  rushed  off  to  order  the 
most  tempting  repast  the  establishment  could 
provide. 

"  He  still  loves  me,  —  a  little,"  meditated 


218     \vini    TIIK   /;/•>'/•  /.vv7;.v77o  v>  .- 

Clara,  tin-  tears  coining  again  as  the  mirror 
rcllccted  the  painful  workings  of  her  face, 
while  she  unbound  and  combed  her  hair. 
'•  He  would  pity  me  if  lie  kne\v  ho\v  entirely 
mv  heart  is  his.  I  used  to  say  thai  no  \voman 
who  respects  herself  would  ever  enter  the  lists 
with  another  for  the  possession  of  her  hus 
band's  affection.  1  did  not  know  then  how 
utterly  bewared  she  is  without  it.  SufieriuLT 

*/  o  o  o 

has  made  me  very  humble." 

Her  bath  and  toilet,  by  promoting  healthful 
circulation,  restored  somewhat  the  equilibrium 
of  judgment. 

Knimett  was  innately  upright.  His  im 
agination  might  be  carried  away  captive  by 
seductive  arts,  yet  his  heart  be  left  in  lawful 
keeping.  lie  was  humane  and  reasonable.  In 
telling  over  his  virtues  to  herself,  she  made 
a  resolve  more  creditable  to  head  and  hear; 
than  anv  other  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of 
recording-.  She  would  tell  him  everything. 
He  surely  had  the  ri'_dit  to  hear  the  counts  of 
the  indictment  befor-'  he  was  sentenced. 

The  sigh  of  relict  thai  greeted  him  on  his 
return  marked  the  upheaval  of  a  great  load. 
She  was  happier  already  at  the  prospect  ot  a 
clearing-up  talk. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  219 

He  hovered  about  her  and  the  breakfast 
table  in  a  joyous  bustle  that  would  have  an 
noyed  her  in  another  mood.  One  silver  hot- 
vvater  dish  was  brought  up  with  much  cere 
mony  when  fruit  and  porridge  were  removed, 
and  set  before  Mr.  Morgan.  Lifting  the 
cover  with  a  flourish,  he  revealed  six  fine 
brook-trout  done  to  a  turn. 

Clara  exclaimed  with  admiration. 

"  And  trout  are  my  favorite  iish !  What 
beauties  !  How  did  you  get  them  ?  " 

Emmett  helped  her  beamingly  and  bounti- 
fully. 

"•I  told  Karen  that  she  could  not  have  de 
vised  a  greater  treat !  Do  you  recollect  the 
trout  we  ate  together  in  England  ?  I  wasn't 
likely  to  forget  what  fish  you  like  best.  A 
fishing-party  came  in  from  '  the  Snows '  last 
night,  and  one  of  them  sent  a  big  mess  of 
Iish  to  the  Gillettes.  Nothing  would  do  when 
Karen  heard  that  you  were  out  of  sorts,  but 
that  these  must  be  sent  to  you,  hot-and-hot. 
What  is  it,  my  darling? 

Clara  had  laid  down  her  fork  and  leaned 
back  in  her  chair,  pale  and  trembling,  her 
eyes  glowing  strangely. 

;t  You  should  have  told  me  —  "  she  bejran. 


'2-20         \VITU    THE    /;/•>•/•    /  .V '/'A' .V  770. VS.- 

A  knock  at  the  door  severed  the  agitated 
sentence.  The  bolt  was  drawn  before  they 
eonld  speak.  Upon  the  threshold  appeared 
an  august  iigure  in  travelling  costume. 

Clara  rushed  up  to  her. 

"  Mamma. !  oh.  mamma  !  " 

Embraces  were  not  in  Mrs.  James  Cam 
eron's  line,  nor  were  hysterics  and  scenes. 
A  mother  inuxt  put  her  arm  around  the 
creature  to  which  she  gave  birth,  when  it  is 
clinging  to  her  neck,  but  the  action  in  this 
instance  did  not  suit  the  accompanying  word. 

"Clara!  Clara!  compose  yourself,  child. 
This  is  not  like  you  !  " 

The  cold  douche  had  the  specific  effect. 

"  I  was  so  startled!''  murmured  the  daugh 
ter,  abashed  as  only  her  mother  could  abash 
her.  "  When  did  you  arrive  ?  And  what 
brought  you  here  ?  Is  anything  the  matter 
at  home  ?  " 

Mrs.  Cameron  answered  one  question  at 
a  time,  and  in  order,  when  she  had  laid  off 
bonnet  and  mantle.  She  had  come  in  the 
morning  boat,  delayed  beyond  the  usual  hour 
of  arrival  by  rotudi  weather.  She  was  en 

%.'  r"* 

route  to   attend  a  Sunday-school   convention 

in  Chicago,  and   "leant   to  spend  two  days  in 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  221 

Mackinac.  All  at  home  were  well,  or  she 
would  not  be  here.  A  letter  advising  Clara 
of  her  visit  should  have  been  received  twenty- 
four  hours  ago.  She  had  taken  a  cup  of 
coffee,  a  slice  of  toast,  and  a  boiled  egg  at 
Mackinac  City,  and  needed  no  more  break 
fast.  She  was  not  fatigued,  having  slept  well 
on  the  cars. 

The  estimable  matron  was  an  iron-gray 
woman.  Her  eyes  were  full,  hard,  and  gray; 
iron-gray  hair  was  rolled  over  a  firm  cushion  ; 
a  tailor-made  gown  of  sheeny  £jrav  stuff  was 

O  v        O  v 

tightened  smoothly  about  an  ample  bust  and 
waist ;  her  skin  was  of  an  opaque  grayish 
tint  resembling  zinc  ;  her  voice  Avas  a  heroic 
contralto  which  "  carried "  well  when  she 
presided  over  committees  and  conventions. 
Looking  at  her  critically,  it  was  difficult  to 
think  simultaneously  of  her  husband ;  ab 
surdly  impossible  to  picture  a  baby  laid 
upon  the  marbleized-iron  bosom,  yet  she  had 
borne  and  brought  up  six  children. 

Clara  was  her  first-born  and  favorite,  and 
had  served  as  a  model  to  her  successors  in 
the  nursery. 

Emmett  made  a  pretence  of  finishing  the 
interrupted  meal,  while  his  wife,  whose  ap- 


222       WITH     THE    HKST    7.V7'A'.V770.V>-  : 

petite  li;id  failed  upon  the  trout,  and  Mrs. 
Cameron,  whose  modest  desires  had  been 
met  hv  the  single  egg.  solitary  cup  of  coffee, 
and  one  slice  of  toast,  conversed  of  home 
and  Lisbon  affairs.  Her  son-in-law  gulped 
the  last  morsel  with  an  effort,  rang  for  a 
waiter  to  take  away  the  remnants  of  the 
repast  he  had  planned  so  lovingly,  and  tried 
to  speak  jocosely  :  — 

kv  I  suppose  the  less  you  see  of  me  this 
forenoon,  the  better,"  stooping  to  kiss  his 
\vife  (Mrs.  ('ameron  looking  discreetly  in 
another  direction,  as  she  anticipated  his  ac 
tion).  "  I  know  yen  have  a  thousand  tiling 
to  say  to  one  another  —  so  <n>od  by  until 

»  O  » 

luncheon ! " 

Mrs.  Cameron  was  too  conscientious  to 
catechise  her  daughter  as  to  her  husband's 
character  and  conduct.  Mrs.  Morgan  was 
too  loyal  a  wife  to  complain  of  him.  Never 
theless,  within  half  an  hour  after  Kmmett 
went  lightly  down  the  stairs  for  a  comfort 
able  smoke  on  the  piay./a  with  Mr.  Romevn, 
the  mother  knew  all  the  daughter  had  to  tell. 
Ardently  as  Clara  had  longed  for  this  able 
counsellor,  she  had  had  no  intention  of  crim 
inating  Emmett. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE. 


And  yet  — 

"  I  see  !  "  observed  the  mentor,  inclusively, 
when  the  bulk  of  the  evidence  was  in.  "•  It 
seldom  happens  that  the  intimates  of  bachelor 
hood  are  such  as  a  man  would  have  his  wife 
know  intimately.  I  regret  that  your  first 
experience  of  this  truth  should  be  so  severe. 
These  people  evidently  belong  to  an  exag 
gerated  type  of  the  llashy  Bohemian — -women 
you  should  never  have  touched!  I  am  grate 
ful  to  a  kind  Providence  that  brought  me 

o 

here  in  time  to  prevent  you  from  compli 
cating  the  situation  by  confiding  in  your 
husband.  Never  encounter  a  man  with  the 
story  of  a  beautiful  woman's  frailty  until  you 
have  all  your  proofs  ready  and  docketed. 
It  was  not  accident  that  led  me  to  accept 
the  appointment  as  delegate  to  this  conven 
tion.  Yet  there  are  Christians  who 
in  special  Providences  !  " 


224       WITH    THE    BEST 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

"Sin-:  is  estima-able,  no  doubt.  She  could 
not  be  less  and  have  such  ;i  charming  da-a-ugh- 

ter —  don't  you  know?  Nevertheless,  she  re- 
minds  me  of  the  h;ir-ard\vure  business.  Her 
husband  mav  he  a  railway  stuck  broker,  you 
know.  The  ferru-uginoiis  smack  mav  come 
from  tin-  ra-ails.  don't  vou  know?  And  it 
isn't  magnetized  i|-on,  either.  ()r  —  is  it  I 
wlio  am  unma<_niet  ic  '/  " 

Karen  and  Uertie  strolled  up  tlic  liill  be 
yond  the  hotel,  and  into  a  winding  pnth 
running  perilously  near  the  verge  of  the 
cliff.  Mr.  Romevn  and  Ciem  followed  at  a 
nee(lles>lv  discreet  distance,  for  Px-rti;1  did 
all  the  talking,  chatter  as  idle  as  his  saun 
ter.  Mrs.  Cameron's  coming  had  disturbed 
the  currents  of  ^:>od  fellowship  in  the  litth- 
party,  and  this  not  merelv  by  witlidrawing 
the  Moi'gans  from  the  circle.  Mrs.  (lillctte 
had  had  an  attack  of  chilliness  last  night 
after  an  hour's  chat  with  the  iron-clad  upon 


A  MIDSUMMER    EPISODE. 


indifferent  subjects,  and  withdrawn  early 
with  her  daughter  from  the  piazza.  The 
elder  lady  was  still  invisible,  although  Karen 
reported  her  as  much  better  when,  at  ten 
o'clock,  the  four  fast  friends  sallied  forth 
upon  a  ramble. 

Karen  was  quiet  beyond  her  wont.  Too 
sweet-hearted  to  be  morose,  and  too  well- 
bred  to  appear  abstracted,  her  entire  willing 
ness  to  leave  the  talk  to  her  escort  had  the 
peculiar  effect  of  augmenting  his  disfavor 
toward  Mrs.  Morgan's  parent.  By  the  time 
they  reached  the  cliff  overtopping  the  Devil's 
Kitchen,  he  was  berating  what  he  elected  to 
call  '•  the  ferruginous  fulmination,"  so  viru 
lently  that  a  sparkle  of  amusement  re-lit 
Karen's  eyes. 

"  Gem  !  "  she  called,  "  our  bear  is  becoming 
savage.  This  leader's  hand  is  hardly  firm 
enough.  He  is  used  to  the  whip,  you  see. 
And  I  have  not  the  energy  to  apply  it  to 
day." 

She  sat  down  upon  a  rock  under  a  shelter 
ing  clump  of  evergreens,  and  took  off  her 
hat  with  an  involuntary  sigh,  (lem  began 
to  scold  the  recalcitrant,  and  he;  to  defend 
himself,  Mr.  Romeyn  acting  as  amused  ref 


2lV>       WITH     TIIK     HKXT    IXTl-:.\TIO.\s: 

eroe.  Karen  looked  and  felt  strangely  sn1>- 
(lui'tl.  Sin-  had  spoken  to  her  ninth. T  a 
week  before  of  her  f;;nev  that  there  was 
"thunder  in  the  air."  Since  then  her  nerves 
had  been  sorelv  tried,  brave  as  was  her  out 
ward  seeming,  and  the  strain  told  upon  her 
forces. 

Dav  and  scene  were  tranquilixing'.  \Vitli 
these  familiar  friends,  there  was  no  need 
of  playing  a  part.  Their  affeetionate  tact 
—  I>erties  feigned  discontent  and  absorp 
tion  in  il  bcin;_j  one  phase  of  this  -was  a 
wall  between  her  and  an  exacting  public. 
The  loose  clasp  ol  lit  r  hands  upon  her  knee, 
the  slight  drooji  of  her  head,  the  unbent 
lines  of  her  month,  indicated  peiisiveness 
that  was  not  nnjicacetul.  Iler  eves  \\'cre 
following  a  passing  steainei1  that  left  upon 
the  still  air  a  corrugated  trail,  ^'ray-bellied 
and  white-backed,  reminding  l>er;ie  of  a  sea- 
serpent,  when  the  pair  ol  restless  yo 
people  be^an  the  circuitous  descent  lo  the 
water's  edi^e.  (Jem  \vas  sure-footed,  iVrtie's 
eve  watchful  and  his  arm  strong.  After 
nodding  a  smiling  assent  to  the  proposed 
expedition,  the  chaperon's  Lfa/.e  recurred  to 
the  billowing  smoke,  broadening  as  it  thinned 
and  arose  into  the  hi'dier  air. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  227 

The  merry  voices  of  the  children  were 
faint  and  remote  when  she  became  aware,  as 
if  awakening  from  sleep,  that  Mr.  Romevn 

o  */ 

was  speaking  in  his  customary  subdued  key, 
but  with  an  undertone  of  earnest  feeling  that 
aroused  her  with  the  force  of  an  electric 
shock. 

Perhaps  because  she  was  singularly  devoid 
of  personal  vanity,  or  that  security  in  the 
thoroughness  of  their  mutual  and  friendly 
understanding  had  made  her  unobservant, 
she  had  never,  for  a  moment,  credited  what 
others  had  hinted  more  or  less  broadly,  —  of 
the  intention  of  this  serious,  honorable  gen 
tleman  to  woo  her  to  be  his  wife.  A  woman 
of  the  world,  herself,  she  appreciated  fully 
the  improbability  that  a  wealthy  bachelor, 
nearing  forty  years  of  age,  and  reputed  to  be 
indifferent  to  matrimony,  would  ever  change 
his  condition.  She  liked  and  esteemed  him, 
and  felt  perfectly  secure  in  the  permanence 
<>f  their  present  relations. 

Beyond  the  start  and  stir  that  ran  over  her 
iigure  as  his  meaning  now  broke  upon  her, 
she  gave  no  sign  of  emotion,  or  even  atten 
tion,  for  several  minutes.  Her  lingers  may 
have  been  pressed  more  closely  together,  and 


•J-2S     WITH    THE   /;/>T  AY  77-:  A"  770. vs.- 

the  unbent  curve  of  the  liji.s  drooped  toward 
sadness.  lie  could  not  look  in  tin-  eves  ga/- 
ing  lakeward,  and  was  therefore  unprepared 
for  the  passion  of  pleading  with  which  tliev 
were  abruptly  turneil  upon  him. 

"I  cannot  listen!''  she  said,  impetuously. 
"You  must  not  say  it.  I  never  dreamed  of 
this.  Your  friendship  has  been  a  help  and 
a  comfort.  We  will  go  back  to  that  safe, 
peaceful  haven.  I'nsav  it  all.  —  or  better 
still  —  both  of  us  will  forget  it.  —  my  friend!  " 

An  irritable  suitor  could  not  have  sus 
pected  her  of  coquetry.  At  the  real  suffering 
in  her  face,  this  one  spoke  vet  more  gently. 

"  I  had  not  hoped  for  other  encouragement 
than  the  permission  to  await  your  time  and 
will.  I  am  not  blind,  or  yet  a  coxcomb,  and 
.so  could  not  misunderstand  voiir  friendliness. 
I  saw  that,  before  vou  would  suspect  the  real 
state  of  my  affections,  I  must  speak  plainly. 
Let  me  go  on — please!  '  tor  her  gesture  lie- 
sought  his  silence. 

"  I  know  that  vou  do  not  talk  for  effect,  and 
you  have  said  twice  in  my  hearing — per 
haps  witli  a  purpose  —  that  you  disbelieve  in 
second  marriages.  I  have  an  excellent  mem 
ory,"  smiling  slightly, '•  and  I  recollect  that 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  229 

when  I  was  a  child,  my  widowed  mother  said 
the  same  thing,  and  far  more  emphatically. 
Yet  she  married  again,  and  very  happily."' 

She  glanced  up  at  the  lighter  inflection 
that  went  with  the  smile.  He  stood  under  a 
balsam-fir,  one  hand  grasping  a  low  bough, 
and  the  other,  holding  his  hat,  hung  at  his 
side.  Courteous,  self-contained,  manly  yet 
deferential,  he  appeared  to  admirable  advan 
tage,  lint  tranquil  as  was  his  general  mien, 
there  was  that  in  his  eyes  that  sent  the 
blood  leaping  to  her  temples.  She  half  arose, 
wringing  her  hands  in  an  agony  of  remorse 
ful  regret. 

"  Why  did  you  ever  see  me  ?  Why  did  I 
break  my  resolution  of  seclusion  from  a 
world  in  which  I  have  no  right  to  appear  ? 
Mr.  Romeyn  !  dear,  noble  friend  !  "  hurrying 
out  the  words,  while  her  slender  fingers  pun 
ished  one  another  cruelly,  and  her  eyes,  dark 
and  troubled,  looked  away  from  him  to  the 
placid  waters.  "  I  must  not  let  you  say  one 
word  more.  I  am  not  a  widow,  except  in 
heart.  That  I  shall  be  forever  !  Oh !  my 
God  !  forever !  forever  !  " 

She  sank  back  upon  the  mossy  rock  and 
buried  her  face  in  her  hands.  As  the  man 


230       WITH    TUP:    HHST    I.\TKNTIO.\*  : 

—  tin;  Hush  of  Hilary  astonishment  fading 
slowly  awuv  —  stood  rooted  to  the  earth,  he 
sa\v  tears  trickle  over  her  wrists  and  fall  in 
her  lap. 

"  I  am  answered,"  he  said  in  a  voice  that, 
if  hard-,  was  not  hitter.  "  Is  it  necessary  to 
say  that,  had  I  known  the  truth  — 

"You  would  not  have  spoken!"  throwing 
down  her  hands  and  revealing  the  wet  eves 
and  trembling  month.  "No!  no!  no!  I 
know  your  nice  sense  of  right  and  honor. 
But.  were  it  possible  for  me  to  love  you, — or 
any  man  again.  --  I  would  not  entangle  your 
prosperous  life  with  mine  —  such  a  frayed 
and  hefouled  thread  !  " 

I  Ie  took  a  step  toward  her. 

"Take  hack  those  last  words!  I  demand 
this  in  justice  to  yourself.  Thirty-eight  years 
have  taught  me  something  of  women,  (tod's 
angels,  who  hear  us,  are  not  purer  than  you! 
I  swear  it  !  " 

She     arose     and     held     out    both    hands  — 
solemn  lustre  shining  through  her  tears. 

"You    are    a    good    man!"   she  said,   with 
simple  fervor.      "Thank  you,  for  believing  in 
my  mother's  daughter.      We — she  and   I - 
must     leave     this     place     soon  —  very    soon. 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  231 

There  is  a  strange  heaviness  upon  my  heart 
of  late.  It  may  he  the  shadow  of  coming 
disaster.  It  may  have  meant  only  this.  It 
is  sad  enough,  Heaven  knows !  Wherever 
I  go,  I  shall  remember  you,  and  that  you 
held  me  to  be  worthy  of  your  regard.  See ! 
Bertie  and  Gem  have  reached  the  shore,  and 
are  trying  to  attract  our  attention  ! '' 

She  shook  her  handkerchief ;  Mr.  Romeyn 
waved  his  hat  in  reply  to  the  united  halloo 
that  ran  up  the  rocky  face  of  the  precipice. 

The  sun  was  in  the  meridian  when  the 
cliff -climbers,  returning,  beheld  Mrs.  Duma- 
resque  seated  under  one  tree,  almost  hidden 
by  the  New  York  Tribune.  Mr.  Romeyn, 
under  another,  was  deep  in  the  editorial 
columns  of  one  of  a  pile  of  journals,  topped 
by  the  Interior  and  Chicago  Tribune. 

"  Well,  runaways  !  "  said  the  chaperon,  in 
playful  severity.  "  We  were  wondering  if 
you  were  making  the  round  of  the  Island. 
Mr.  Romeyn  has  had  time  to  go  back  to  the 
hotel  for  the  morning  papers,  and  we  have 
read  six  apiece.  Did  you  find  any  more 
irreverent  bits  of  pasteboard  in  his  Satanic 
Majesty's  plate-warmer  ?  " 


232       WITH     THE    11EST    /.V77-;.Y77O.V.S  : 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

MRS.  CAMERON  arose  on  "Wednesday  full 
of  affairs  and  jnous  resolve.  She  buttoned 
her  wrinkleless,  tailor-made  gown  over  a  bust 
heaving  strongly,  but  regularly,  \vilh  matured 
intentions.  I  lei  fare  was  zinc-white  and 
determined;  her  falcon  eve  said  that  the  \vav 
was  clear  for  her  fearless  feet.  The  angels 
had  swept  aside  everv  prhblr  of  douht,  dug 
up  every  shard  of  mistaken  jiitv  for  the  sin 
ner  whose  dav  of  doom  had  dawned.  Mrs. 
Cameron  had  a  just  appreciation  of  her  own 
talents,  and  knew  herself  to  he  equal  to  anv 
emerge nev.  —  with  the  connivance  and  help 
of  I'n  ivideiice,  of  course. 

She  ate  no  meat  for  breakfast  that  morn 
ing:  and  while  discussing  her  fruit,  porridge, 
graham  bread,  and  coffee,  took  occasion  to 
observe  that  "persons  of  full  habit  would  do 
well  to  confine  themselves  to  vegetarian  diet 
when  there  was  any  matter  on  hand  which 
required  intellectual  effort  and  nerve-power.1 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  238 

"  I  suppose  your  mother  has  a  paper  to 
prepare  for  the  Chicago  Convention/'  Emmett 
said  when  Clara  proposed  a  tete-d-tete  drive,  — • 
"  mamma  having  another  engagement  for  the 
forenoon." 

She    colored    and   bridled   slightly, 

"  Mamma  is  always  active  in  good 
works." 

"  Nobody  can  deny  that,  my  love,"  rejoined 
the  generous  son-in-law.  "She  is  a  woman 
of  marvellous  executive  ability." 

Pie  would  have  conceded  much  more  ru 
the  relief  of  escaping  for  a  couple  of  hours 
from  the  majestic  muchness  of  her  presence, 
Reports  of  the  meetings,  moderated  by  the 
inimitable  executive  officer,  invariably  spoka 
of  her  "  fine  presence."  It  was  upon  her  in 
force,  encased  body  and  soul,  as  in  triple 
mail,  as,  standing  at  the  window  of  her  chain 
ber,  she  beheld  the  party  of  four  set  out  upon 
their  cliff-side  ramble.  Her  agate-iron  eye- 
surveyed  Karen  with  the  gleam  a  huntei 
Hashes  along  his  gun-barrel  when  drawing  a 
bead  upon  his  game,  but  her  calm  lips  were 
unstirred.  Then  she  betook  herself,  net 
ting  in  hand,  to  Mrs.  Manly 's  parlor. 

The    invalid's    sofa   was    drawn    into    the 


'J:U       WITH  'i in-:  /;/•;>'/•  L\TK.\TIO\S : 

middle  df  the  r.>om,  facing  the  western  win 
dows,  the  blinds  of  \\hieh  were  open. 

••  I  v.'as  watching  inv  voung  people  go  over 
the  hill,"  she  said,  vivaciously.  "I  iMitiiied 
them  tliat  I  should,  and  they  turned  to  wave 
me  a  salute  from  the  highest  point.  Thev 
Mevcr  forget  th.e  stranded  hulk  and  her  whims. 
What  I  shall  do  to  console  and  interest  (Jem 
when  Mrs.  Dumaresque  goes  away,  I  shudder 
to  think.  She  is  a  genius  in  chaperonage  as 
in  evfi'vthin^'  else." 

Mrs.  Cameron's  netting  was  maei'ame  lace, 
made  of  hempen  thread  as  grav  and  as  nn- 
compromisini;- as  herself.  She  drew  cord  and 
lins  ti^'lit  lirt'ore  she  replied:  — 

"You  admire  that  sort  of  person,  then?" 

Mrs.  Manlv  \\'as  hurt  and  stunned  l>v  the 
moral  brickbat. 

••  I'erson  !  M'\"  dear  .lane  !  AVIio  does  not 
admire  and  love  Mrs.  Dumaresque  ?  Put  the 
oiiestion  to  anvbodv  \\ho  kno\\'s  her!  lietVr 
it  to  the  wliole  hole!  !  " 

"She  la  sliowv,  I  <_;-rant.  witli  a  sort  of 
meretricious  beautv  that  catehes  the  unedu 
cated  taste.  Actress  liv  nature  and  praetice, 
she  is  nevei'  off  '_ruard.  and  courts  universal 
approbation.  It  is  quite  the  safest  course  in 
the  circumstances." 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  235 

Her  quick  ear  catching  what  she  thought 
was  ;i  muffled  rustle  in  the  bed-room,  the  door 
of  winch  was  ajar,  she  interrupted  herself  to 
fcsk,  "  Is  there  danger  that  Ave  will  be  over 
heard/'1 

"  No.     That  is,  unless  —  Fanny  !  " 

There  was  no  response  to  the  call;  but 
Mrs.  ( lumeron  took  nothing  for  granted. 
She  aro>e,  pushed  the  door  wide  open,  and 
scanned  the  inner  apartment.  There  was 
nobody  there,  yet  she  made  all  safe  by  rimt- 
ting  the  door  of  communication. 

Mrs.  Manly  thrust  down  the  shoulder-robe 
from  her  fluttering  lungs  and  fanned  herself 
pantingly. 

"  My  dear  cousin  !  What  do  you  mean  to 
insinuate  ?  Don't  keep  me  in  suspense ! 
Suspense  is  the  worst  possible  thing  for  one 
in  my  condition."  She  reached  over  to  the 
table  for  her  smelling-salts,  pulled  out  the 
stopper,  and  inhaled  the  volatile  contents 
between  breaths.  "  Not  that  you  could  pos 
sibly  know  anything  against  a  woman  yot* 
never  met  or  heard  of  until  last  night! ' 

o 

"  I  know  everything  about  her  —  and 
nothing  in  her  favor."  Mrs.  Cameron  undid 
a  kink  in  the  stiff  thread  with  keen,  broad 


23n      ,,'iin  THE  r, /•:>•'/'  /. v TK .vr/o.vs. • 

finder-nails.  k>  In  the  first  place,  she  passes 
under  an  assumed  name, —  a  trick  as  clever 
as  any  she  has  practised,  which  is  saving 
much.  Retaining  the  spelling,  sht;  has 
altered  the  pronnneiatinn.  She  was  Mrs. 
Dewrraok  when  she  lived  in  a  frontier  garri 
son  with  her  lawful  husband,  and  in  outward 
respectability.  She  is  Mrs.  Duma/v.v/M*' 
since  she  ran  away  from  him  with  another 
man,  and  is  queening  it  in  Northern  watering- 
places,  her  dutiful  mother,  with  a  saintly 
face  and  a  reputation  for  wealth  and  social 
standing,  ready  to  whitewash  the  wanton 

O  v 

daughter." 

"Great  Heavens!"  Mrs.  Manly  dropped 
the  vinaigrette.  The  stopper  rolled  into  tin; 
middle  of  the  lloor.  Mrs.  Cameron  picked  it 
up,  fitted  it  into  the  bottl  -.  and  laid  the  latter 
upon  the  stand. 

"Am  I  dreaming'/"  cried  the  shocked 
hostess,  chokingly.  "Are  you  sane?  What 
horrible  misunderstanding  is  thi>'.'  I  will 
not  —  I  cannot  —  I  »n<///t  not  to  credit  OIK? 
word  of  it!  You  have  been  grossly  misin 
formed.  You  are  talking  of  a  different  per 
son  than  my  (Jem's  best  friend.  Think  of 
my  child,  Jane  Cameron  !  " 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  237 

"  Think  of  my  child,  Jemima  Manly!  Ex 
posed  at  the  outset  of  her  married  life  to  the 
almost  certain  chance  that  the  fact  of  this 
apparently  intimate  intercourse  with  a  dis 
reputable  woman  will  reflect  upon  her  all  her 
days!  And,  but  for  my  providential  arrival, 
this  might  have  gone  on  until  the  mischief 
was  irretrievable.  This  creature's  husband 
was  here  last  week.  You  saw  him.  He 
mingled  freely  with  the  company  in  this 
hotel.  He  has  changed  his  name,  too  —  it  is 
said,  to  take  that  of  an  uncle  who  left  him 
his  heir.  It  is  more  likely  that  he  wanted  to 
get  rid  of  the  name  the  wicked  woman  has 
disgraced.  Captain  Dale  introduced  him  to 
you  as  Major  Kane." 

"  Jane  Cameron  !  NO  !  "  rising  on  her 
elbow. 

'•  Jemima  Manly  !  YES  !  "  continuing  to 
tie  meshes  of  the  hempen  web.  "  He  came 
to  entreat  her  to  consent  to  a  divorce,  that 
she  might  be  made  an  honest  woman  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world  by  marrying  the  partner  of 
her  crime.  She  flouted  the  idea.  She  ieered 

J 

at  him  and  mocked  him  on  that  very  piazza, 
within  arm's  length  of  your  window.  Do  you 
recollect  the  night  of  the  thunder-storm,  when 


-o8     WITH   Tiit:   /;/•:>•/•  IXTESTIOSX: 

you  were  ill  \vith  headache,  and  Clara  sat  in 
here  \vliilu  you  were  asleep'.'  Sin;  MIIC  the 
husband  and  wife,  and  heard  all  I  have  told 
you/' 

••Merciful  ]x.)\veis  ! ''  Mrs.  Manly's  dc- 
i/nccs  were  ground  to  powder  bv  this  last 
and  realistic  proof.  '•  \Vhoiu  can  I  trust'' 
(Mi,  let  me  hope,  there  is  some  mistake  — 
somewhere!  I  think  to  believe  it  all  would 
kill  me  !  " 

It  she  were  a  geyser  of  tears  and  declama 
tion,  her  kinswoman  \\as  a  drv  Gibraltar. 

"To  believe  it  should  nerve;  you  to  save 
your  child,  and  to  atone  to  societv,  in  some 
measure,  for  the  liari'i  YOU  have  done  bv 
misplaced  confidence  in  an  adventuress. 
Prompt  action  is  imperatively  required  of 
us  all.  1  ask  you  to  believe  nothing  with 
out  conclusive  evidence.  Compose  yourself 
sufficiently  to  listen,  and  you  shall  jud^e  foi 
v<  'Ui'self." 

She  welded  the  links  of  Clara's  discoveries 
and  suspicions  into  a  chain  that  rivalled  in 
massive  mi^ht  Lord  Stirling's  celebrated 
boom  stretched  across  the  Hudson.  Xo 
''castings  '  for  her!  Nothing  but  wrou^'lit- 
iron,  and  plenty  of  it.  served  her  turn.  No 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  239 

wonder  honest  Bertie  detected  the  "  foiTUoi- 

o 

nous  smack  "  I 

It  may  liave  been  half  an  hour  thereafter 
hat  a  prominent  member  of  tl  ;  aiumst 
^hief  Butler's  staff,  dubbed  by  J  iat  official 
"My  Assistants," -  —  a  spruce,  supercilious 
mulatto,' — passed  the  door  of  .drs.  Manly's 
bed-room  just  as  a  young  worn  .n  of  like  com 
plexion  and  jauntiness  with  hi  aiself  stole  forth 
on  tiptoe.  His  exclamation  of  pleasurable 
surprise  was  checked  b'  an  imperious  gesture. 

"I  was  on  my  way  to  bct  a  mossle  of  fresh 
air,"  she  said,  mincingly,  when  they  were  a 
few  steps  further  up  the  corridor. 

"May   I   be    your    escort?"  divining1   her 

•J  J  O 

intent. 

Had  the  cousins  glanced  at  the  open 
window,  they  could  have  seen  the  pair  as 
cending  the  hill,  deep  in  talk.  It  was  the 
Assistant's  "  morning  off,"  and  Fanny  could 
depend  upon  her  mistress's  indulgence 
should  the  bell  be  rung  vainly  during  her 
absence.  The  trim  Abigail  was  a  treasure. 
She  had  lived  with  Mrs.  Manly  and  the 
Idiosyncrasy  for  five  years,  and  knew  her 
place  too  well  to  emerge  from,  the  closet 
where  she  was  arranging  Mrs.  Manly's 


240      WITH  THE  /;/•;>.•  I.\TK.\TIO.\S: 

trunk,  after  overhearing  Mrs.  Cameron's 
insulting  query.  Had  she  been  tempted  to 
answer  her  employer's  call,  the  other  matron 
settled  the  matter  by  scrutini/.ing  the  inner 
room.  It  was  the  action  of  a  spy,  not  of  a 
ladv,  decided  handsome  Fann\",  holding  her 
brt-ath  in  wholesome  indignation  until  the 
meanness  of  the  transaction  was  climaxed  by 
the  sound  of  the  closing  door.  With  the 
practical  appreciation  of  tin;  specific  purpose 
of  the  keyhole,  innate  in  her  class  and  profes 
sion,  she  so  far  gratified  her  loyu  of  a  llavor- 
ous  dish  of  scandal  that  the  story  she  poured 
into  the  willing  ears  of  her  admirer  owed  le>s 
to  her  imagination  than  might  ha  ye,  been 
expected  from  Mrs.  Manly's  confidential 
maid. 

The  smouldering  evos  of  the  dusky  dandy 
kindled  with  the  unfolding  tale.  The  air  of 
nonchalant  superiority  habitual  to  him  while 
on  duty  in  the  $alle-d-ni<in;/<>r  occasionally 
verged  so  nearly  upon  insolence,  that  Mrs. 
Dumaresque  had  overlooked  him  pointedly 
one  day,  when  it  was  necessary  to  make  an 
inquiry  of  an  official,  by  "preferring  to  wait 
until  the  head-waiter  should  come  in."  The 
snub  was  as  courteous  as  snub  could  be,  but 


A    MIUSUMMEA    EPISODE.  241 

the  mean  mind  never  forgave  it.  He  ques 
tioned  eagerly,  and  his  Dulcinea  answered 
at  length;  the  day  was  glorious,  and  their 
consciences  were  free  from  haunting  thoughts 
of  tasks  undone  ,•  they  wandered  on  and  on, 
with  the  panther-like  tread  inherited  from 
a  savage  ancestry,  the  brown  carpet  of  the 
woodland  path  soundless  under  their  feet, 
until  Fanny  drew  back  suddenly,  with  a  low 
exclamation :  — 

"  Lordy  !   looky  thar  !  " 

Another  step  would  have  cleared  the  clump 
of  undergrowth  behind  which  they  watched 
the  tableau  set  upon  the  cliff-brow,  each  line 
startling!  y  strong  against  the  peerless  blue  of 
the  island  sky. 

Karen,  seated  upon  a  stone,  hands  inter 
locked  upon  her  knee,  the  sunshine  falling 
like  a  blessing  upon  her  bared  head,  looked 
far  out  to  the  water-gates  on  the  dim  horizon. 
Mr.  Homey n  stood  a  little  space  away,  and 
was  speaking  earnestly. 

The  spies  were  too  far  off  to  catch  a  sin 
gle  word  of  the  dialogue,  but  not  a  gesture 
escaped  their  greedy  eyes  until,  alarmed  by 
the  abrupt  motion  with  which  Karen  arose  to 
hold  out  her  hands  to  her  suitor,  they  sped 
noiselessly  back  bv  the  winding  path. 


242      \\'ini    v///-;   /;/;>T   L\TK.\TIOSH : 

"  They  r.in't  comin'  yet  !  "  panted  Fanny, 
stopping  to  lean  against  a  tree  on  one  side, 
and  the  Assistant's  shoulder  upon  the  other. 
"  We  was  seared  for  nothin'.  I  \visht  we  had 
a-staved  longer.  She  were  jes'  about  to  jump 
inter  his  arms.  —  shouldn't  you  say  so?" 

"They  always  do.  my  dear!"  said  the  ex 
pert,  sagely.  k-  But  I  say,  ain't  she  a  high 

one'/ 

In  the  raee  between  good  and  eyil  tidings, 
the  former  is  not  only  handicapped,  but  spav 
ined.  The  whole  Church,  militant  and  tri 
umphant,  needs  to  cry  continually,  "  Flv  ! 
ily  !  thou  mighty  ( iospel  !  " 

Scandal  requires  neither  whip  nor  spur. 

By  the  time  Mrs.  ( iillette  and  her  daugh 
ter  alighted  at  the  main  entrance  of  the  hotel 
after  their  afternoon  drive,  a  hundred  pairs 
of  eyes  were  ready  to  gloat  upon  or  menace 
them.  It  was  noticed  by  not  a  fe\y  that  Mi1. 
Komevn  had  not  been  seen  since  luncheon 
time,  which  meal  he  had  taken,  as  usual,  at 
tin-  table  with  the  (iillettes.  Almost  immedi 
ately  after  the  ladies  had  gone  to  their  rooms, 
he  had  emerged  from  the  rotunda,  looking 
pale  and  grave.  One  woman  of  imllammable 
fancy  repeated  to  all  who  were  not  too  busy 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  243 

tattling  on  the  same  string  to  hearken  to  her, 
how  she  had  remarked  to  her  sister :  "That 
man  has  had  a  blow !  I  shouldn't  wonder 
if  the  mail  had  brought  him  bad  news  !  " 
although  THE  STOKY  had  not  then  reached 
her  ears. 

Another  woman  —  a  late  arrival  —  had  in 
quired,  "  Who  is  that  saturnine  individual 
who  is  mounting  that  fine  horse  ?  " 

Mrs.  Jo-McCarthy-Seth-Liggon  had  stepped 
at  once  into  popularity  that  turned  that 
moiety  of  her  brain  whick  up  to  now  had 
retained  an  ounce  or  two  of  ballast.  She 
held  court  at  every  breathing-place  by  virtue 
of  her  whilom  intimacy  with  that  "  magnifi 
cent,  poor,  dear  Lootenant  Demarick,"  and 
the  acumen  that  had  penetrated  the  disguise 
the  designing  creature  had  carried  off  so 
shamelessly. 

Mr.  Romeyn,  then,  had  thrown  himself 
into  his  saddle  (all  the  stories  agreed  as  to 
the  action)  and  galloped  off  toward  the 
woods.  He  had  not  been  seen  since.  Mrs. 
Liggon  was  the  only  one  who  openly  broached 
the  suspicion  of  suicide  ;  but  others  had  thrills 
of  awful  deliciousness  in  silently  revolving 
the  probabilities  that  out  of  first-class  "sha- 


2-14     H77V/   TIIH  />•/•>•  r   I.\TK.\TIO_\S  . 

diness  "  might  be  evolved  high  tragedy.  The 
desire  to  l>e  upon  the  ground  when  he  re 
turned,  or  when  ue\vs  of  IT  should  he 
brought,  was  second  onlv  to  the  curiosity  to 
take  another  stare  at  the  dethroned  <jueen, 
when  word  ran  along  the  lines  that  her  car 
riage  was  in  sight. 

Slic  walked  up  the  hroad  flight  of  steps 
with  the  mien  of  a  reigning  sovereign:  more 
slowly  than  usual,  herausf  her  mother  leaned 
upon  her.  hut  she  carried  her  head  high  ; 
her  lineaments  were  serene  :  her  glanee  was 
free  and  clear.  Mother  and  daughter  were 
within  two  steps  of  the  top  when  Mr.  "\Yilkes 
lumbered  out  of  the  door,  hastened  down  to 
them,  and  lent  his  aid  toward  bringing  Mrs. 
Gillette  into  the  desired  haven,  bv  grasping 
her  elbow  and  making  an  upward  "haul." 

The  courteous  crowd  tittered;  Karen's 
smile  was  grateful. 

'•Thank  you!"  said  her  soft  yet  vibrant 
tones.  l*Mv  mother  is  rather  more  tired 
than  would  seem  excusable  in  anv  one  upon 
this  lovely  afternoon.  I  hope  Mrs.  Wilkes 
rind  the  voung  ladies  are  enjoying  the  sun 
set?" 

Turning  for  a  last  look  at  it,  she  was  in  the 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  245 

full  stream  of  warm,  rich  light  palpitating 
from  the  burning  west,  yet  a  shiver  ran  over 
}ier  —  so  people  averred  afterward  —  as  if  a 
frosty  breeze  had  struck  her. 


240       WITH    THE     HKST    IXTEXTION8  : 


C1IAPTKU  XVIII. 

THK  day  begun  so  happily  by  Gem  was 
drawing  to  a  dreary  close.  The  programme 
decided  upon  by  the  pair  of  pious  plotters  - 
each  in  her  individual  \vav  a  sensationalist 
—  included  hoodwinking1,  up  to  a  Lfiven 
point,  the  girl  who  would  inevitably  hasten 
the  bursting  of  the  bomb  by  her  passionate 
part  isanship  of  the  criminal. 

Mrs.  Manly  could  not  meet  her  child's 
ingenuous  eyes,  nor  hear  her  prattle  praise 
of  her  friend,  and  successfully  dissemble  her 
indignation.  She  had  but  one  resort.  The 
talons  ot  the  Idiosyncrasy  dragged  her  Ironi 
her  couch  of  ease  to  her  bed  in  the  darkened 
inner  apartment. 

Tlu1  odor  of  ether  stealing  through  the 
transom  of  the  parlor  revealed  the  sit  nation 
to  (iem  lie  fore  she  entered.  A  whispered 
exclamation  ot  dismay  broke  from  her. 

"  Mamma  is  ill !  And  she  seemed  so  bright 
this  mornin<r'' 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  247 

"  I  will  not  come  in,  then  !  "  said  Karen,  as 
softly.  "  13 ut  I  will  wait  here  to  know  how 
she  is  !  " 

"  Very  bad  !  "  was  Gem's  report.  "  She 
hardly  knew  me — she  is  so  stupefied  by  that 
dreadful  drug- !  Fanny  is  used  to  giving  it, 
but  I  am  al  \vays  frightened." 

She  was  a  fond  and  faithful  daughter,  and, 

O 

except  to  take  a  hasty  luncheon,  did  not  stir 
from  the  sitting-room  all  the  afternoon.  By 
four  o'clock,  Fanny  emerged  from  the  inner 
chamber  to  announce,  sotto  voce,  that  "It  was 
passing  off."  By  five,  a  feeble  voice  called 
for  Gem. 

Mrs.  Manly's  complexion  was  sanguine, 
and  her  spirits  were  on  the  gentle  rise.  She 
patted  her  daughter's  cheek,  and  promised  to 
be  '•  all  right  soon." 

"  I  feel  as  if  natural  slumber  would  visit 
me  now,  my  darling,"  she  added,  in  firmer 
tones.  "  Would  you  mind  sitting  in  the 
other  room  with  your  book,  while  poor  Fanny 
gets  an  hour's  rest  ?  She  is  quite  fagged  out, 
and  no  wonder  !  " 

Unsuspicious  Gem  ensconced  herself  duti 
fully  by  her  favorite  window,  a  volume 
Karen  had  lent  her  in  her  hand,  and  for  the 


248        WITH    THE  JiJ-:.<T  J.\Tl-:.\Tlo.\s  : 

next  liour  and  a  half  divided  her  attention 
between  the  pact's  and  the  gav  scene  with 
out,  her  far  all  the  while  alert  for  sounds 
ironi  the  convalescent's  room. 

Natural  slumlnT  proved  propitious,  and 
prolonged  IHT  Slav.  Tin-  tide  of  vehicles, 
riders,  and  pedestrians  up  and  do\vn  the  hill 
capped  by  Cliff  Cottage  was  ebbing  bv  rea 
son  of  the  Hearing  dinner  hour,  when,  between 
her  bowed  shutters,  the  L^irl  sa\\"  liertie  saun 
ter  around  the  bend  of  the  road,  and  eoine 
toward  the  hotel  in  company  with  four  other 
youiiL,r  fellows.  About  a  dozen  yards  above 
the  pia/./.a  thev  paused,  apparently  to  watch 
an  approaching  exctirsion  steamer. 

"How  becoming  white    is   to    that    bov !  " 
thought  our  little   maiden,   in    the   matronly 
strain  feminine   nineteen   indulges   in   toward- 
masculine  three-and-twentv. 

Dei'tie's  wliite  flannel  tennis-suit  was  fresh 
and  fashionable.  His  snowy  cap  sat  the 
blonde  curls  jauntily;  his  racket  was  in  his 
left  hand,  and  he  strummed  upon  the  netting 
with  his  right,  as  upon  a  mandolin,  while  he 
talked:  a  cigar  was  between  his  lips.  He- 
was  graceful,  indolent,  and  happy,  the  em 
bodiment  of  midsummer  content. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  249 

"He  is  growing  handsome.  Or  is  it  be 
cause  I  know  him  better  ?  "  mused  Gem,  in 
the  same  affectionately  patronizing  mood. 
"  I  used  to  think  him  an  affected  boy  — " 

The  boy  had  turned  sharply,  even  fiercely, 
upon  one  of  the  group,  whose  sneering  laugh 
Gem  could  see  and  hear.  They  were  so  near 
that  she  saw  the  sun-bronzed  face  she  was 
commending  change  pallidly,  his  eyes  gleam 
blue  lightning.  He  took  his  cigar  from  his 
lips  ;  there  was  a  breathless  exchange  of  ques 
tion  and  reply ;  the  racket  was  dropped;  Bertie 
took  a  step  forward  ;  a  blow  straight  from  the 
shoulder,  like  the  leap  of  a  sword-cane,  full 
upon  the  sneering  mouth,  sent  his  interlocutor 
reeling  to  the  ground.  Before  his  comrades 
could  interfere,  Bertie  kicked  the  prostrate 
figure  over  and  over,  as  he  might  an  empty 
barrel,  until  lie  lodged  in  the  evergreens  bar 
ring  the  edge  of  the  bank  from  the  highway. 

Wheeling  upon  the  astonished  trio  of  spec 
tators,  his  visage  livid  with  passion,  the  "  boy  " 
seemed  to  interrogate  them,  his  eyes  flaming 
from  face  to  fare.  (Jetting  prompt  and,  it 
would  seem,  humble  answers,  Bertie  smiled 
grimly,  as  Gem  had  never  imagined  he  could 
look,  turned  on  his  heel,  and  walked  rapidly 


_./u      n  rni  Tin-:  ;;/;>/  IXTEXTIOXS: 

into  the  central  corridor  of  the  hotel,  binding 
up  his  bleeding  hand  with  his  handkerchief. 

In  passing  the  .Manlvs'  window,  lie  glanced 
darkly  toward  it,  but  saw  no  one.  (Jem  had 
fallen  back  in  her  chair,  shocked  almost  to 
swooning. 

••  I  never  knew  lambs  could  bark  and  /<//V  .' " 
she  half  sobbed,  half  laughed,  in  recovering 
her  senses. 

She  was  thrilling  and  quaking  from  head 
to  foot.  Terror  at  being  the  eve-witness  of  a 
real  light  that  drew  blood  on  both  sides  :  pride 
in  the  cherub's  masterv  of  a  noble  art  she  had 
not  credited  him  with  possessing,  and  in  his 
prowess  in  extinguishing  in  ten  seconds  a 
man  several  inches  taller  and  many  pounds 
heavier  than  himself:  and.  surmounting  both 
these  emotions,  something  keener  and  sweeter 
than  either,  novel,  and  non-analv/.ablc  hv  her 
experience,  dominated  and  frightened  In;}1. 
She  was  reallv  afraid  of  the  doughty  vouth. 
She  inwardly  catalogued  the  glance  he  had 
cast  at  the  window  as  ••fell,"  and  tried  to 
speculate  upon  the  probabilities  that  he  had 
an  ungovernable  temper,  vet  had  never  liked 
him  one-tenth  so  well  before. 

At   seven    o'clock  the   Gillettes  descended 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  251 

the  staircase,  the  mother  resting  upon  the 
daughter's  arm.  The  pretty  old  lady  moved 
more  slowly  than  she  had  a  week  before  :  her 
skin  was  like  ivory  which  is  beginning  to 
show  age ;  now  and  then  her  lips  faded  into 
blue- white,  that  startled  the  lookers-on.  If 
Karen  noted  the  change,  she  held  her  peace, 
and  no  shade  of  solicitude  dimmed  the  affec 
tionate  smile  with  which  she  talked  now  to 
her  parent,  ignoring  the  shortness  of  breath 
that  obliged  them  to  halt  for  a  second  upon 
the  lowest  landing.  As  they  turned  toward 
the  dining-room,  Amy  and  Grace  Wilkes  met 
them,  the  younger  sister  with  a  cluster  of 
sweet-brier  buds  and  blossoms,  which  she  held 
blushingly  up  to  Mrs.  Dumaresque. 

"  They  came  from  our  bush ! "  said  the 
child,  timidly. 

"  Thank  you,  dear  I  "  caressing  the  brown 
curls.  "Sweet-brier  will  always,  after  this 
summer,  remind  me  of  you." 

The  four  walked  together  to  the  door  of 
the  dining-room.  Mr.  Romeyn  and  Bertie, 
entering  the  rotunda  from  another  side, 
hastened  to  overtake  them  and  accompany 
Mrs.  Gillette  and  her  daughter  to  their  seats. 
The  sisters,  from  the  table  occupied  by  them- 


2") 2      WITH    THE    J1EST    I  \TE\TIO.\S  : 

selves  ;ind  their  parents,  saw  indignantly 
what  the  Gillettes  did  not  remark,  —  tin- 
stares,  furtive,  curious,  and  insolent,  directed 
toward  the  quartette.  'Their  modest  station 
at  the  side  of  the  great  hall  was  the  foeal 
point  of  all  eves.  Kven  the  waiters  lingered 
to  look  at  them  in  passing  hither  and  von. 
Two  or  three,  who  affected  the  supercilious 
Assistant's  manner,  rather  than  the  superb 
suavitv  of  their  principal,  nudged  one  an 
other  grinningly.  The  most  fashionable 
dames  present,  with  solitaire  earrings  like 
headlights  for  gleam,  and  imported  slaughter 
of  native  accent  upon  their  mouths,  pointed 
out  "the  latest  sensation,''  and  "  our  budding 
scandal,  me  dear,"  to  new-comers. 

The  objects  of  all  this  observation  chatted 
as  easily  and  smiled  as  pleasantly  as  was 
their  wont,  bestowing  even  less  attention 
than  usual  upon  the  babbling,  clinking,  and 
clacking  world  about  them. 

"T/utt  is  what  I  call  perfect  breeding!" 
said  Mrs.  Wilkes  aside  to  her  husband.  "Ciin 
she  be  as  unconscious  as  she  appears?" 

"She  has  eves,  and  more  wits  than  all  the 
confounded  crew  put  together!"  growled  the 
storekeeper  and  prospective  legislator.  "It's 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  253 

clear  grit !  —  that's  what  it  is  —  and  woman's 
grit,  at  that !  —  the  best  article  of  the  kind 
in  the  market ;  warranted  a  fit,  every  time  ! 
But  I'd  give  a  year's  profits  and  my  best 
Jersey  cow  to  have  her  clean  out  of  this,  and 
eating  shortcake  and  raspberries  with  us  at 
home  this  very  minute  !  I'm  sick  of  hotel 
cooking  and  hotel  ways  !  " 

"  An  accident  upon  the  tennis-court,  or  in 
boating?"  queried  Mrs.  Gillette,  noticing 
the  court-plaster  upon  Bertie's  hand. 

"I  skinned  it  against  a  nosty  blo-o-ke, 
don't  you  know?"  the  Anglican  smack 
successfully  disguising  the  slang  phrase- 
The  cherubic  eyed  his  marred  knuckles  in 
rueful  admiration,  funny  enough  in  itself. 
"  Lost  me  temper  and  hurt  me  to-o-e,  kicking 
the  be-eastly  tiling  into  the  lake,  don't  you 
know?" 

"  Poor  block  !  "  said  Karen.  "  Let  us  hope 
it  could  swim  !  " 

But  she  had  intercepted  a  warning  glance 
from  his  quondam  guardian,  and  on  their 
way  out  after  dinner,  accosted  Mr.  Romeyn 
in  a  mirthful  undertone  :  — 

"  What  has  the  absurd  boy  been  doing?" 

"His  duty!"  savagely.     "I  beg  your  par- 


254       WITH    THE    BEST 


don  !  "  as  she  looked  quickly  ;it  him.  '•  Ber 
tie  is  a  famous  boxer,  and  a  fellow,  whom 
Bertie  would  style  'a  cad,'  not  knowing  his 
gifts  in  that  line,  tried  to  take  advantage  of 
his  deficiency  in  the  matter  of  weight  and 
height  —  and  got  left.  That  is  the  tale  in 
brief." 

'•  Bertie  is  as  brave  as  he  is  sweet,"  said 
Karen,  thoughtfully,  "and  a  true-hearted, 
leal  friend/' 

"  You  are  right." 

The  response;  was  so  grave  that  she  re 
turned  from  her  troubled  wonder  as  to  whether 
Gem  might  possibly  be  mixed  up  in  the  fra 
cas.  Something  in  the  set,  colorless  fare,  look 
ing  sternly  forward,  brought  the  blood  from 
her  heart  to  her  cheeks,  —  the  impotent  pain 
pure  women  with  sensitive  consciences,  who 
have  inspired  love  thcv  cannot  return,  know 
so  well.  The  hurt  she  had  dealt  that  fore 
noon  was  deep,  and  she  could  offer  not  so 
much  as  a  drop  of  balm.  But  for  the  pre 
occupation  of  this  reflection,  she  must  have 
become  the  sooner  aware  of  the  stir  of  some 
thing  strange  and  adverse  beneath  the  sur 
face  of  the  social  waters.  As  the  four,  Bertie 
and  Mrs.  Gillette  leading  the  way,  strolled 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  255 

up  the  piazza,  the  crowd  parted  conspicuously 
to  the  left  and  right,  yet  nobody  seemed  con 
scious  of  their  neighborhood.  Promenaders 
looked  fixedly  at  each  other,  and  talked  faster, 
or  espied  something  of  absorbing  interest  far 
out  upon  the  lake,  or  fell  into  moody  abstrac 
tion  that  drew  the  eyes  to  the  floor  or  into 
vacancy.  It  could  hardly  have  been  by  chance 
that  not  one  of  many  acquaintances  met  the 
mother  and  daughter  in  the  long,  deliberate 
progress  to  the  upper  curve,  where  the  twain 
had  held  court,  evening  after  evening,  for  a 
month  past.  There  the  Wilkses  in  a  body 
were  grouped,  with  over-studied  carelessness, 
around  the  easy-chair  set  ready  for  the  old  lady. 

Her  breath  was  uncertain  and  unequal  in 
thanking  them  for  the  courtesy;  her  smile 
was  a  flickering  ray. 

"  Pray  Heaven  she  may  not  guess  what  is 
going  on!''  Mrs.  Wilkes  found  opportunity 
to  breathe  into  her  helpmate's  ear.  "  She 
hasn't  the  strength  for  it." 

Then  the  worthy  souls  began  to  make  such 
diligent  talk  that  the  rest  of  the  little  party 
Avere  drawn  in,  and  those  who  stood  and  sat 
aloof,  but  attent,  remarked  how  shamelessly 
the  convicted  Creature  was  "  carrying  on  with 
those  men," 


256       WITH    THE    KKXT    L\TK\TIO.\TS  : 

Alas  !  those  who  were  near  were  few  ;  those 
win i  held  themselves  apart,  many.  Besides 
Mr.  Romevn,  Bertie,  and  the  Wilkes  familv, 
no  one  approached  her  who  was  but  yesterday 
a  queen.  People  turned  in  the  promenade 
at  the  swell  of  the  curve  of  the  noble  por 
tico,  with  the  precision  of  sentinels  upon  their 
beat.  The  few  who  were  caught  above  the 
infected  district  beat  a  retreat  to  the  corridor 
bisecting  the  wing, and  through  it  made  their 
wav  to  safer  regions.  k*  The  awful  circle  of 
the  txtnnei?  "  was  drawn  as  distinctly  about 
the  central  group  as  though  defined  by  gov 
ernmental  edict. 

Until,  to  the  amusement  of  the  men  and 
the  horror  of  the  women,  Emmett  Morgan, 
who  had  taken  an  afternoon  off,  his  wife  hav 
ing  her  mother's  society,  and  spent  it  in  play 
ing  chess  upon  the  Dales'  porch,  and  to  whom 
no  one  dared  whisper  a  syllable  of  recent 
disclosures,  appeared  at  the  upper  end  of 
the  pia/./.a,  accompanied  by  Captain  and  Mrs. 
Dale,  and  the  three  attached  themselves  forth 
with  to  the  party  under  fire.  Mrs.  Dale  ac 
cepted  smilingly  the  chair  offered  by  Mr. 
Romevn  ;  the  Captain  bent  low  over  Mrs. 
Gillette's  hand,  and  then  remained  standing 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  257 

by  her ;  and  luckless  Emmett,  resting  a  hand 
on  the  back  of  Karen's  chair,  leaned  toward 
her  ear  to  retail  an  amusing  story  Mrs.  Dale 
had  just  told  him.  The  sensation  produced 
by  this  manifestation  of  culpable  ignorance 
or  astounding  effrontery  on  the  part  of  the 
young  Benedict  was  so  palpable,  that  Karen, 
raising  her  beautiful  eves,  sparkling  with 

o  «,  o 

laughter  excited  by  the  anecdote,  heard  the 
rustle  and  murmur.  Her  startled  look,  as  it 
swept  the  scores  of  faces  turned  upon  them, 
all  bearing  varieties  in  degree  of  one  senti 
ment,  caused  Emmett  to  follow  it.  Review 
ing  the  scene  in  a  calm  moment,  he  could 
compare  the  shock  to  nothing  but  the  agony 
of  a  mote  that  accidentally  crosses  the  focus 
of  a  solar  microscope.  lie  and  his  friends 
were  suddenly  ranged  upon  a  stage  in  the 
merciless  blaze  of  light  that  scorched  while 
it  blinded.  Everybody  was  staring  at  them. 
In  the  excitement  of  the  instant,  people  had 
turned  their  chairs  to  get  a  better  look ; 
strollers  looked  over  their  shoulders ;  men 
leaned  against  pillars  and  surveyed  them 
coolly ;  women  even  lifted  eyeglasses  in 
reckless  impertinence. 

Thus   for  one  blinding  second,  - -•-  tl>e#    Uio 


-:     J1EST     7.V77-:.V770.VS  : 

throng  broke  into  sections  ;uul  inio  knots 
that  resumed  idle  or  serious  chat.  Hut  ii 
was  a  second  lie  never  forgot.  The  nex!.  he 
shifted  his  position,  instinctively,  to  shield 
tin.1  pale  face  of  his  companion  troiu  cruel 
scrutiny.  Her  eves  were  distraught  with 
asking  and  misgiving —  appeal  that  recalled, 
as  in  a  flash  of  light,  what  thev  had  said  to 
him  on  the  afternoon  of  his  arrival  at  Macki- 
nac.  when  thev  looked  up  at  him  standing 
with  his  bride  upon  the  Inlcoiiv  —  the  instant 
in  which  he  recognized  in  the  brilliant  bru 
nette  of  the  tableau  below  his  old  acquaint 
ance. 

"  In  I  leaven's  name  !  "  she  uttered,  low  and 
huskily,  "what  does  it  mean?  What  have  I 
done  ?  " 

'•  Nothing  !   nothing!  hush!" 

For  around  the  corner  of  the  building 
tripped  Mrs.  Manlv's  maid,  smart  and  smirk 
ing,  with  a  note  in  her  hand. 

It  was  for  Mrs.  Dumaresque.  Opening  it 
mechanically,  she  glanced  down  the  page, 
and,  as  if  still  da/ed,  passed  it  to  Emmett. 

'•  Shall  I  read  it  aloud?"  he  inquired, when 
he  had  run  it  over. 

"  If  you  plea.se." 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  259 

It  was  in  Gem's  handwriting :  — 

"  DEARKST  Mits.  DUMAKESQUE  :  (This  is  not  T  who 
write.  It  is  Mamma.)  She  has  been  ill  all  day,  but 
finds  herself  so  much  better  to-night  —  in  fact,  so  well 
—  that  she  begs  for  the  pleasure  of  your  society,  '  and 
would  you  have  the  infinite  complaisance'  (this  is  still 
Mamma  who  speaks  !)  to  recite  '  Lasca '  for  us  this  once 
more  ?  Mrs.  Cameron  is  extremely  anxious  to  hear  it, 
as  rendered  by  you.  Bring  Mr.  Romeyn,  Mr.  Gates,  — 

The  witch  had  written  "  the  Ubiquities"  then 
crossed  it  out,  — 

"the  Dales,  Wilkses,  —  in  short,  all  your  court,  with 
you,  most  gracious  Lady  and  Queen  (that's  a  touch  of 
Mamma  again  !),  and  make  golden  one  leaden  hour  of 
an  invalid's  dreary  day. 

'•  So  prays  Mamma.  To  which  petition  I,  Gem, 
who  love  you,  add  '  Amen  ! ' 

"P.S.  I  wanted  to  go  for  you  in  my  own  person, 
which  is  never  'proper,'  but  Mamma  thought  this  for 
mal  (!)  request  would  be  in  better  taste  for  suppliants." 

There  was  a  second  postscript,  which  Em- 
mett  did  not  read  aloud  :  — 

"  Coyne,  my  darling  —  won't  you?  I  have  not  seen 
you  for  eight  and  a  half  hours,  and  I  am  withering ! 

"  Lovingly, 

"GEM." 

Mrs.  Gillette  arose  with  the  rest  when  a 


2t!0     WITH   THE   /;/•>'/'   L\TK.\TIO.\X  : 

motion  \v;is  made  in  the  direction  of  Mrs. 
Manlv's  apartment. 

Something  in  IHT  lack  of  alertness  caught 
JUT  daughter's  eve.  Slit-  was  at  IHT  side  in 
a  moment,  forgetful  of  IHT  o\vn  perplexity. 

"Mamma!  arc  yon  not  well?  Would  vou 
like  to  go  to  your  room  instead?" 

"Do!"  urged  Mrs.  Wilkes.  -I  will  stay 
with  yon  while  the  young  people  are  listen 
ing  to  the  recitation." 

The  line  old  figure  was  straightened;  a 
lovely  liloom  tinted  tin-  faded  face. 

••Fie!  lie!  You  must  not  make  me  out  to 
he  superannuated.  I  shall  never  he  past  lik 
ing  to  see  young  people  happv,  or  enjoying 
my  daughter's  triumphs.  I  shall  he  well 
rated  for  that  last  word  when  I  do  suffer 
myself  to  he  taken  up  stairs.  So  it  hehooves 
me  to  stay  below  as  lon^  as  I  can. 

Before  Kmniett  could  offer  his  arm,  Mr. 
liomevn's  was  extended  and  accepted.  Karen 
fell  hack,  nndesignedlv,  to  Bertie's  side,  ami 
perceived  how  it  had  happened,  as  he  spoke 
under  his  breath. 

"I  sav.  if  vou  don't  want  to  keep  that, 
'skit,'  —  designating  the  note  she  was  twist 
ing  abstractedly  between  her  lingers,  —  "I  am 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  261 

partially  acquainted  with  a  fellow  who  would 
1-i-i-k-e  to  lay  it  away  among  his  mementoes, 
you  know." 

His  whimsicalities  always  amused  her.  The 
low,  musical  laugh  that  answered  him  was  like 
a  girl's,  but  Mr.  Romeyn's  forehead  was  lined, 
as  with  sudden  pain,  in  hearing  it. 

"  What  if  your  '  fellow '  should  not  value 
it  when  you  are  better  acquainted  with  him?" 
she  rejoined,  banteringly. 

Nevertheless,  the  little  billet  rustled  into 
his  left  breast  pocket  as  they  entered  Mrs. 
Manly's  parlor. 


262       WITH     THE    HEST 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

CLEOPATRA  lay  in  high  state  among  silken 
cushions  of  many  colors.  An  India  sha\vl  of 
fabulous  value  in  the,  days  when  only  rich 
people  wore  such  was  flung  across  her  feet. 
A  generous  sluice  of  cold  air  had  dispelled 
the  fumes  of  ether,  and  the  breath  of  a  big 
boxful  of  violets,  with  which  Bertie  (iates 
had  paid  a  philopena  forfeit  to  Gem,  was 
banishing  the  memory  of  the  drug. 

In  the  midst  of  her  wrath,  which  was  deep, 
and  her  useless  regrets,  which  were  sincere, 
the  straining  after  dramatic  effect,  which  had 
become  second  nature  with  Mrs.  Manlv,  was 
visible  in  every  appointment  for  the  scene  of 
the  evening.  The  stage  was  dressed  for  ;i 
denouement  which  was  to  be  historical.  From 
her  couch,  she  commanded  the  semi-circle  of 
chairs  which  was,  artistically  irregular.  Her 
gown  was  pale  lavender,  trimmed  with  black 
lace  ;  (Jem's,  of  white  China  silk,  was  girdled 
with  lavender  that  shaded  harmoniously  with 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  263 

her  mother's  robe.  The  light  was  stronger 
than  either  of  them  liked  to  have  it  at  these 
informal  receptions.  Mrs.  Cameron  asked  that 
the  silken  shade  which  generally  tempered 
the  glare  might  be  dispensed  with  to-night. 
She  needed  clear  light  for  her  netting. 

The  exemplary  matron  was  drawn  up  in 
force  upon  a  high-backed  chair  at  her  cousin's 
right  hand.  A  trail  of  hempen  meshes  lay 
across  her  lap  ;  her  strong  fingers  manipulated 
and  conquered  the  stout  threads  in  a  relent 
less  fashion,  that  suggested  her  probable 
method  of  handling  heart-strings.  Her  face 
was  as  calm  as  the  Jungfrau  on  a  clear  Janu 
ary  morning.  Before  coming  to  the  tribunal 
where  she  was  to  act  as  prosecutor,  witness, 
and  judge,  she  had  locked  her  door,  and,  upon 
knees  well  used  to  the  posture,  asked  the 
blessing  of  righteous  Heaven  upon  the  task 
laid  to  her  hand. 

Her  equanimity  acted  like  bromide-and- 
lavender  upon  Mrs.  Manly's  nerves,  and 
awed  Clara.  At  sight  of  it  the  latter  felt 
ashamed  of  the  unladylike  heat  with  which 
she  had  regarded  her  husband's  truancy,  and 
the  actual  hatred  that  had  fluttered  her  pulses 
at  thought  of  Karen  Dumaresque.  Would 


WITH    THE    ISKST    INTENTIONS: 


she  ever  be  able  to  emulate  the  marble-like 
composure  of  the  eminent  Christian  philan 
thropist?  She,  too,  had  her  work.  The 
dozenth  faint  buff  doyly  was  to  be  a  memento 
forever  to  her  of  this  eventful  occasion.  As 
she  plied  the  needle  with  cold,  humid  fingers. 
she  stitched  into  the  intricate  design  of  inter 
locking  and  infinitely  be-spoked  wheels  su^- 
penseful  trepidation  she  dared  not  butrav  in 
her  mother's  presence. 

Light-hearted,  light-footed  (rein  flitted 
about  the  room,  pulling  a  fold  straight  here. 
settling  a  ilower  there,  picking  up  with  the 
tongs  a  fallen  coal  ;  adjusting  her  mother's 
screen,  and  breaking  into  intermittent  mur 
murs  of  song,  until  Mrs.  Manly  remarked 
plaintively  upon  her  "fidgetiness." 

"  Forgive  me  !  "  pleaded  the  child,  stooping 
to  kiss  the  petulant  lips.  "  I  don't  know 
what  ails  me  to-night.  I  feel  as  if  some 
thing  airfiiH//,  transcendently  delicious  were 
just  about  to  happen.  I  suppose  it  is  because 
you  are  so  much  better,  Mamma  dear,  and 
that  we  are  to  have  another  Dumaresque 
evening.  Th<tt  is  enough  to  set  mv  pulses  to 
dancing." 

Not  a  word  replied.      Mrs.   Manly    closed 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  265 

her  eyes  and  fanned  herself  nervously.  Mrs. 
Morgan's  head  bent  lower  over  her  work; 
there  was  as  much  expression  in  Mrs.  Cam 
eron's  face  as  in  a  new  grayish  slate.  Fanny, 
who  had  never  been  more  handy,  discreet,  and 
demure  than  while  arraying  her  mistress  and 
setting  the  room  in  order  for  "  company," 
had  her  own  flurry  of  spirits,  but  it  was  not 
a  formless  mystery  of  expectation.  When 
she  retired  from  the  scene  of  action  at  Mrs. 
Manly's  gracious  bidding,  it  was  not  as  that 
lady  suggested,  to  "  have  a  holiday  evening 
with  the  other  maids." 

"  Lock  the  bed-room  door  on  the  inside, 
Fanny,  and  go  out  this  way,"  was  also  an 
order  susceptible  of  ingenious  construction. 
The  door  was  locked,  but  the  key  went  off  in 
Fanny's  pocket.  She  had  not  studied  stage- 
tricks  under  Mrs.  Manly  for  four  years  in  vain. 

Voices  and  steps  in  the  corridor  heralded 
the  party  for  whom  preparation  had  been 
made.  Gem  flew  to  the  door  before  the 
leader  of  the  band  could  knock. 

They  entered  with  a  playful  show  of  pro 
cessional  parade.  Mrs.  Gillette  and  Mr. 
Romeyn  were  first ;  Karen  came,  last  of  all, 
upon  elate  Bertie's  arm.  Mrs.  Cameron  and 


ir/77/    TII K   /;/•>•  r   i.\TK.\Tioys: 


her  daughter  bowed ;  the  hostess  sainted 
effusively  with  her  fan.  There  was  a  tumult, 
merry  but  subdued,  in  consideration  of  the 
invalid's  recent  indisposition,  in  seating  the 
company.  The  room  was  quite  full  when  all 
were  settled.  Mrs.  (Jilh-tte  had  the  arm-chair 
of  honor.  Bertie  dropped  upon  the  rug  at  her 
feet.  Kmmett,  following  his  example,  drew 
up  a  foot-cushion  in  front  of  his  wife,  and 
bestowing  himself  thereupon,  rested  his  elbow 
upon  her  knee. 

Clara  blushed  brightly  at  the  action.  She 
knew  that  Mamma  thought  it  indecorous:  vet 
had  her  life  or  the  preservation  of  Mamma's 
favor  depended  upon  it,  she  could  not  have 
repelled  the  dear,  affectionate  fellow.  Her 
heart,  hungry  and  sore,  responded  with  an 
eager  bound  to  the  public  demonstration  of 
love  and  preference.  After  all.  he  <//</  belong 
to  her.  and  vaunted  the  truth. 

Mrs.  Cameron,  better  versed  in  masculine, 
deceits,  drew  her  thread  hard  and  narrowed 
the  line  of  her  tight  lips.  The  sugar-plum  of 
uxorious  display  on  the  part  of  a  faithless 
spouse  was  a  stale  trick.  She  had  seen, 
through  a  convenient  crevice  of  the  front 
shutters,  what  Clara  had  not  --  Emmett's 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  267 

attitude  of  tender  homage  not  three  minutes 
before  the  receipt  of  Mrs.  Manly's  note ;  had 
witnessed,  too,  Karen's  transfer  of  it  to  him 
for  the  public  reading. 

"  As  an  honest  woman  might  pass  over  her 
private  letters  to  her  husband  I "  thought  the 
virtuous  matron. 

The  pleasant  ripple  of  chat  was  arrested 
presently  by  Mrs.  Manly's  somewhat  awk 
ward  introduction  of  the  pretext  of  her  invi 
tation.  Karen  came  gracefully  to  her  relief 
as  she  bungled  volubly  and  halted  senselessly. 
The  atmosphere  of  the  familiar  room,  the  en 
vironment  of  friends,  the  exclusion  of  the 
outer  line  of  curious  and  insolent  faces, 
wrought  peaceful  gratitude  within  her  soul. 
Here  she  was  safe  !  When  Gem  had  fluttered 
to  her  side,  and  stolen  an  arm  about  her,  she 
could  have  clasped  the  child  to  her  heart  and 
broken  into  wild  weeping,  so  great  was  the 
revulsion  of  feeling.  The  lustre  of  unshed 
tears  was  yet  upon  her  eyes,  a  moved  smile-, 
on  her  lips,  as  she  arose  for  the  recitation  she 
had  assured  Mrs.  Manly  "  it  was  a  pleasure,. 
not  a  trouble,  to  give." 

'•  We  wouldn't  press  you  to  repeat  it,  — 
only  Mrs.  Cameron  would  like — in  fact,  is 


WITH   TIII-:   /;/•>'/•   I.\TK\TI<>\*  : 

just  burning  with  desire  —  to  hear  you  in  this. 
your  masterpiece,"  the  kinswoman  declared. 

The  zinc  woman  testified  her  flaming  de 
sire  by  folding  the  hempen  lace  and  laying  it 
upon  the  table ;  then  overlapping  the  strong- 
hands,  that  could  look  cruel,  upon  her  gray 
poplin  gown,  and  fastening  her  unwinking 
eyes  upon  the  high-bred,  sensitive  face  of  the 
speaker. 

The  deadening  grayness  of  Mrs.  Cameron's 
complexion,  and  the  dilation  of  her  eyes,  as 
the  tale  proceeded,  were  something  to  behold 
and  never  to  forget.  l*p  to  this  she  had  felt 
that  the  Creature  defied  her,  with  other  spot 
less  women,  in  Haunting  the  garb  of  respec 
tability.  Now,  she  and  they,  in  the  concrete, 
Virtue,  in  the  abstract — and  Providence,  of 
course — were  insulted  openly.  Thestorv  of 
lawless  love,  reckless  passion,  attempted  homi 
cide —  and  Heaven  only  knows  what  other 
monstrous  implications  —  was  recited  for 
Jti'f  pleasure  —  at  In-r  request!  The  selection 
was  Mrs.  Manlv's.  Mrs.  Cameron  never  read 
poetrv  or  novels,  lint  who  was  to  know  that'/ 
The  First  Directress  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Asso 
ciation  of  the  Lisbon  ( 'hurch,  the  prospec 
tive  lecturer  of  the  Chicago  Sunday-school 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  269 

Convention,  stood  committed  to  an  ungovern 
able  desire  to  hear  '  Lasca  ! ' 

"  A  poem  of  Western  life  and  adventure," 
her  cousin  had  said.  "  Just  the  thing  to  fur 
nish  an  excellent  opening  for  your  catechism." 

Bertie  tingled  all  over  with  malicious  glee 
at  seeing  the  stiffening  eyeballs  roll  porten 
tously  from  Clara  to  Mrs.  Manly,  resting, 
en  route,  rebukefully,  upon  the  unconscious 
son-in-law,  who  saw  only  Karen's  speaking 
face,  as  she  gave  the  lines :  — 

"  But  once,  when  I  made  her  jealous  for  fun, 
At  something  I'd  whispered,  or  looked,  or  done, 
One  Sunday,  in  San  Antonio, 
To  a  glorious  girl  on  the  Alamo,  — 
She  drew  from  her  garter  a  dear  little  dagger, 
And  —  sting  of  a  wasp  !  it  made  me  stagger  ! 
An  inch  to  the  left,  or  an  inch  to  the  right, 
And  \  shouldn't  be  maundering  here  to-night. 
But,  she  sobbed,  and  sobbing,  so  swiftly  bound 
Her  torn  reboso  about  the  wound, 
That  I  quite  forgave  her.     Scratches  don't  count 
In  Texas,  down  by  the  llio  Grande." 

The  gray  woman's — by  now — bloodless  lips 
actually  parted  when  the  garter  was  named, 
as  a  fish  comes  up  to  the  top  of  the  water  for 
air.  They  stirred  again  at  the  "  torn  reboso." 


270       WITH   THE   VEST  IXTEXTIOXfi: 

The  unknown  garment  might  be  —  probably 

it  was  —  u  petticoat  ! 

Tin1  recitation  over,  the  granitic  auditor 
continued  to  regard  the  smiling  sinner  with 
hard,  wide  eves,  until  the  bulging  ga/.e  drew 
the  notiee  of  others.  An  odd  pause  and 
constraint  passed  upon  the  group.  Mrs. 
Cameron  cleared  her  throat.  Clara's  very 
feet  became  ice  at  the  sound  :  her  heart 
rolled  over  slowlv,  then  lav  still  for  one 
awful  second. 

"May  I  ask,  Mrs.  —  ahem! — Dumaresque, 
if  you  know  anything  personally  of  frontier 
life,  —  not,  of  course,  of  such  a  disreputable 
career  as  that  described  in  your  favorite 
poem.  —  but  of  army  and  garrison  life?'' 

"Yes."  said  Karen,  tranquilly,  "%1  lived  in 
garrison  on  the  frontier  for  some  years,  and 
made  long  journeys  with  the  regiment  over 
the  plains." 

"In  company  with  your  husband.  Lieuten 
ant —  afterward  Captain — De-war-ack,  I 
presume  ?  " 

Karen's  great  dark  eves  looked  right  at 
her  :  her  countenance  was  immovable. 

"  With  my  husband,  as  you  say.  I  went 
out  to  a  garrison  immediately  upon  my  mar 
riage." 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  271 

"  What  were  some  of  the  forts  in  which 
you  lived  ?  " 

The  answer  was  prompt  and  composed. 

"  Fort  \Vingate,  Fort  Lincoln,  Vancouver 
Barracks,  and  others.  If  3-011  are  interested 
in  army  life  and  army  men,  Mrs.  Cameron, 
Captain  Dale  can  tell  you  more  than  I  of 
forts  and  fort  people." 

The  resolute  stare  was  not  diverted  by  the 
reference. 

';  May  I  inquire  at  which  station  you 
changed  the  pronunciation  of  your  name, 
and  why  ?  " 

Response  came  from  an  unlooked-for  quar 
ter.  It  was  Mrs.  Gillette's  voice,  steady  and 
sweet,  that  took  up  the  word. 

"•  It  was  at  my  earnest  request,  after  she 
returned  to  my  home.  Nothing  in  the  Eng 
lish  language  justifies  the  eccentricity  of 
De-war-ack.  There  is  even  less  warrant  in 
the  original  French.  It  is  never  too  late  to 
right  a  wrong  thing." 

'"The  drollest  trick  of  pronunciation  I  ever 
ha-appened  upon  was  in  the  ca-ase  of  the 
na-ame  of  a  little  cross-ro-oads  settlement  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Richmond,  Virginia," 
drawled  Bertie,  so  lazily  one  might  have 


272      WITH    T1IK    P.KXT    I.\TEXTIO\s: 

thought  him  drowsy,  and  bored  to  boot.    "  The 

na-;itivt's  call  it  '  Da-n-rl^.'  I'll  allo\v  a-any 
of  you  ten  guesses  in  \vhich  to  li-ind  out  how 
it  is  spelled,  and  give  i\\\  gold  wa-atch  to  the 
one  who  gets  it  ri-ight." 

"•  1),  e,  r,  b,  y,  of  course!"  from  Kmmett. 
"That's  English,  you  know! 

"  D,  a,  r,  b,  y !  "  somewhat  snappishly  tVom 
Gem.  "We  see  through  the  eateh,  with 
half  an  eye." 

Mrs.  Cameron's  strident  tone  cleft  the 
nonsense. 

"  I  should  think  that  regard  for  your  hus 
band  would  have  dictated  adherence  to  the 
method  preferred  by  7*/w.  Especially  as  it  is, 
T  believe,  the  one  universally  adopted  by  other 
families  of  the  name." 

"You'll  never  gue-c-ss,  if  you  try  a-all 
ni-ight,"  continued  the  imperturbable  Bertie. 
"Listen!  1C.  n.  r.  o,  u,  g,  h,  t,  v!  T'on  my 
honor,  every  letter  of  f//<it  .'  and  then  to  be 
ca-alled  '  [)<i-nrl>;i  ' .'  It's  worse  than  '('hu-uin- 
ley  '  for  '  Chol-mon-de-ley,'  and  '  Beecliam  ' 
for  '  Beaucha-a-mp,'  do!i't  yon  know?  Il:(.; 
Virginians  are  great  upon  barba-arilies  like 
tha-at,  you  know.  Tliere's  a  fa-amily  in  Ilieh- 
mond  called  '  Tolliver  '  —  " 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  273 

"I  beg  pardon,  Mr.  Gates."  Mrs.  Cameron 
waved  her  hand  imperiously. 

"  ^°o  yours,  I'm  sure,"  cocking  his  saucy 
head  from  his  lowly  position,  "  but  I  believe 
I  have  the  flo-o-o-r." 

A  burst  of  laughter,  louder  and  longer  than 
the  cause  warranted,  threatened  to  end  inglo- 
riously  what  everybody  present  appreciated 
as  a  wordy  fencing-match. 

"  I  know  a  man  in  our  part  of  the  coun 
try-  "  Mr.  Wilkes  was  saying,  when  Mrs. 
Manly  brought  up  her  nerves  to  support  her 
ally. 


274       \V1TH    THE    I1K*T 


CHAPTER    XX. 

'•  MY  dear  friends  !  "  said  the  hostess,  with 
a  ghastly  show  of  vivacity,  yet  with  a  certain 
assumption  of  the  authority  of  her  oi'lice  not 
to  he  gainsaid.  "In  the  name  of  my  dearest 
foe,- — to  wit,  my  Idiosyncrasy, —  I  must  en 
treat  yon  to  speak  singly.  All  this  is  too 
interesting  to  lose,  and  I  am  not  quite  an 
Kli/.aheth  Tudor,  who  could  dictate  two  —  or 
was  it  six?  —  letters  at  once  to  as  many  sec 
retaries.  I  can  listen  to  hut  one  at  a  time. 
What  were  you  saying,  my  dear  .lane,  about 
}  wo  wavs  of  pronouncing  Mrs.  Dumaresque's 
name?  How  verv-very  droll!" 

It  was  a  master-stroke,  hut  she  could  light 
no  longer  in  ambush.  Her  labored  liveliness, 
the  shrill  break  in  her  laugh,  and  her  over 
acted  case  betrayed  sinister  design.  A  red 
cloud  swept  over  Karen's  face  and.  in  pass 
ing,  took  all  the  color  with  it.  Mrs.  CJillette 
leaned  her  head  against  the  cushioned  hack  of 
her  chair,  her  eyelids  quivering  and  lips  of  a 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  275 

leaden-blue  ;  Mr.  Romeyn's  eyes  shone  sud 
denly  and  wrathfully  ;  Gem  instinctively 
nestled  her  head  against  her  friend. 

Mrs.  Cameron  remained  Gibraltar.  Her 
voice  was  incisive  and  frosty. 

"  I  was  saying  that  Mrs.  Demarack  is  singu 
lar  in  pronouncing  her  name  as  she  does. 
But  a  stranger  freak  of  fancy  would  be  to 
pronounce  D,  u,  m,  a,  r,  e,  sv  q,  u,  e,  Kane  !  " 

No  explosion  ensued  upon  the  projection 
of  the  shell.  Mystification,  pure  and  simple, 
appeared  in  every  face  except  her  daughter's 
and  her  cousin's.  Karen  continued  to  look 
directly  at  her,  with  the  air  of  one  courte 
ously  awaiting  further  information.  Her 
effrontery  provoked  plainer  speech.  The 
woman  of  affairs  cast  away  the  foil,  and  laid 
hold  of  the  honest  broadsword. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen !  "  facing  them  as 
from  the  platform,  "you  are  gathered  here 
this  evening  for  a  purpose.  I,  for  one,  will  be 
partaker  in  no  man's  —  much  less  woman's  — 
sins.  Desperate  diseases  require  prompt  and 
unsparing  measures.  Yet,  had  not  those  con 
nected  with  me  by  blood  and  affection  been 
made  the  Victims  of  the  Machinations  I  feel 
myself  called  upon  by  Conscience  and  Provi- 


276       WITH     THE    I1KST    7.Y77-;.Y 77O.YS  ; 

dence  to  expose,  I  might  have  held  my  peace 
even  from  good.  I  call  upon  the  person  wlio 
lias  passed  herself  off,  and  been  passed  off  bv 
Her  Motln'r."  -  -  yet  more  cuttingly. —  "as  a 
Widow,  to  tell  me,  in  your  hearing,  whether 
she  did.  or  did  not,  elope  with  Another  Man 
from  her  husband,  eight  years  ago.  Also,  if 
the  Said  Husband,  having  exchanged  the 
Name  she  had  dishonored  for  that  of  Kane, 
did.  or  did  not,  visit  her  within  a  week,  to 
implore  her  to  join  him  in  an  application  for 
a  Divorce,  that  she  might  marry  the  Partner 
of  her  Flight  —  or,  perhaps,  yet  Another  Man  ! 
No  Heroics,  I  beg,  Madame!"  —in  precisely 
the  tone  she  had  known  to  strike  dumb  the 
'•bad  subject"  of  Orphan  Asylum  or  Reform 
School.  "I  demand  a  Categorical  Answer  — 
k  Yes  or  -  Xo  '-—to  my  questions." 

With  gentle  hands  that  were  yet  like  steel, 
Karen  put  aside  the  soft  clinging  of  Gem's 
arms,  drew  herself  to  her  full  height,  and 
looked  down  upon  her  accuser.  Site  lifted 
her  hand  before  speaking. 

-You  shall  have  it!     NO!" 

The  scene  that  followed  could  never  he 
described  by  any  of  the  actors.  When  the 
bloody  mist  cleared  from  Karen's  vision,  and 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  277 

the  alarum  bells  ceased  to  deafen  her  ears, 
Gem  was  kneeling  by  her,  her  face  buried 
in  the  folds  of  her  chaperon's  gown,  and 
sobbing  convulsively ;  Bertie  held  one  of 
Mrs.  Dumaresque's  hands,  and  Mrs.  Dale  the 
other ;  Mr.  Wilkes  was  shaking  hands  with 
Mrs.  Gillette,  and  his  wife  was  patting 
Karen's  shoulder  as  she  would  soothe  a  terri 
fied,  good  child. 

Einmett's  voice,  deep  with  indignation, 
silenced  the  clamor  of  tongues. 

"  I  demand,"  and,  as  he  secured  a  hearing  — 
"  I  demand,  since  allusion  has  been  made  to 
my  wife,  that  this  matter  be  sifted  to  the 
bottom.  Knowing,  as  I  do,  the  horrible  in 
justice  done  by  what  we  have  been  forced  to 
hear,  to  one  of  the  noblest,  truest,  purest 
women  the  Judge  of  all  ever  allowed  to  suf 
fer  for  the  sin  of  another,  —  I  should  be  be 
neath  the  contempt  of  any  one  here  if  I  did 
not  insist  upon  an  explanation  of  the  mon 
strous  charge  brought  against  her  by  Mrs. 
Morgan's  mother." 

With  a  little  cry,  Clara  shut  out  with  her 
hands  the  sight  of  the  face  transfigured  out 
of  the  likeness  she  knew  by  suppressed  fury. 
It  was  as  unfamiliar  and  dreadful  as  the 
roughened  tone  that  smote  her  like  a  blow. 


278        WITH   THE  JiEST 


Mrs.  Cameron  was  about  to  speak,  her 
stony  orbs  unwinking  under  his  blazing 
glance,  when  Captain  Dale  came  forward. 
His  line  features  were  expressive  of  sincere 
concern,  but  lie  spoke  with  gentle  dignity. 

••One  moment,  if  you  please."  bowing  to 
Mrs.  Cameron  before  addressing  Eminett. 
"May  I  suggest  that  Mrs.  Gillette  and  Mrs. 
Dumaresque  be  permitted  to  retire?  It  is 
surely  needless  to  subject  them  to  further 
pain." 

Mrs.  Gillette  did  not  take  his  proffeivd 
arm.  She  searched  his  face  anxiously. 

"If  I  go,  who  will  vindicate  mv  child?" 
said  the  feeble  voic".  "She  has  onlv  me. 
Nobody  else  knows  all." 

Ten  minutes  had  done  ten  vears'  work 
upon  her.  Her  eves  were  sunken,  her  lips 
of  a  purplish  pallor, 

"I  will!"  Kmmett's  voice  rang  out  de- 
liantly. 

"And  I!  '  responded  Captain  Dale,  quietlv 
impressive.  "Major  Kane  is  mv  fri"iid.  I 
am  in  his  confidence.  Mrs.  Dale  and  I  will 
go  up  to  your  room  with  you." 

The  mother  arose  obediently.  As  Karen 
would  have  followed.  Gem  thing  herself  upon 
her  neck. 


A   MIDSUMMER  EPISODE.  279 

"  O  my  darling  !  my  darling  !  that  look  on 
your  face  'breaks  my  heart.  And  to  think 
that  you  .should  have  been  so  hurt  here ! 
here  !  You  know  I  would  lay  down  mv  life 
to  undo  it  all.  Nothing  and  nobody,  not  all 
the  iron-hearted,  murderous-tongued  saints  in 
the  universe,  could  make  me  believe  anything 
against  you,  my  love  !  my  beauty  !  my  poor, 
poor  dear ! " 

She  was  crying  bitterly,  and  the  Wilkes 
sisters  wept  in  sympathy. 

Karen  lifted  the  pretty  young  head  from 
her  bosom,  and  looked  into  the  rain-drenched 
face  with  a  smile  too  mournfully  sweet  for 
tears. 

"  I  never  doubted  you,  sweetheart.  I 
never  can  doubt  you!  Ma}'  the  dear  GOD 
bless  you  for  what  you  have  been  to  me  !  " 

She  pressed  her  lips  to  the  pure  forehead 
and  trembling  lips,  kissed  the  cheeks  of  the 
weeping  sisters,  and  left  the  room  with  Mrs. 
Dale. 

"  Highly  theatrical !  "  sneered  Mrs.  Cam 
eron,  coolly,  her  eyes  upon  the  closing  door. 

"  The  drama  is  of  your  selection,  Madame ! " 
retorted  her  son-in-law,  hotly. 

"I    think"  —  Mr.   Romeyn    spoke    for  the 


iNi     WITH    Tin-:   /;;•;>•  v   L\TI-:.\TK>.\S .- 

lirst  time  since  the  recitation  of  •  Lasca ' — • 
"we  would  do  well  not  to  discuss  this  matter 
in  Captain  Dale's  absence.  He  has.  unless  I 
mistake,  the  kev  to  the  mystery.  He  asked 
me  to  wait  for  him  here." 

Mrs.  Cameron  unrolled  her  hempen  net 
work.  Her  inscrutable  visage,  if  it  said 
au^ht.  told  of  immeasurable  ivseryes  of  will. 
It'  weaker  natures  elected  to  dash  themselves 
into  froth  and  spume  against  her  bulwarks, 
they  had  only  themselves  to  blame.  Nobody 
else  looked  up  or  nioyed  until  the  Captain  re 
appeared  without  his  wife.  Mrs.  (iillelie 
had  had  a  fainting  lit  upon  reaching'  her 
room,  and  he  had  summoned  a  physician 
sojourning  in  the  hotel.  The  patient  had 
reyiyed.  but  was  still  so  ill  that  Mrs.  Dale 
thought  it  wise  not  to  leaye  Mrs.  Dnma- 
resque  alone  with  her. 

"  I  regret,  unspeakably,  the  necessity  for 
repeating  what  my  old  comrade,  Major  Kane, 
confided  to  me  on  the  last  night  o(  his  stay 
with  me,"  he  continued.  "Until  then,  I  \vas 
ignorant  of  the  leading  events  of  his  domestic 
life." 

He  stood  upon  the  rug  at  om-  end  of  the 
hearth,  his  arm  on  the  mantel,  haying  de- 


A   MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  281 

clinetl  Mrs.  Manly's  offer  of  a  chair  as  point 
edly  as  was  consistent  with  his  invariable 
courtesy,  —  an  action  that  classed  him,  in 
Mrs.  Cameron's  mind,  with  the  benighted 
and  enslaved  masculine  opposition. 

u  I  have  no  more  inclination  than  others 
present  to  prolong  a  story  for  which  most  of 
us  were  totally  unprepared." 

Involuntarily  Bertie  glanced  at  his  scarred 
knuckles,  and  a  light  burst  upon  Gem's  mind. 

"  I  could  have  gone  down  upon  my  knees, 
then  and  there,  and  kissed  them,  court- 
plaster  and  all !  "  she  said,  many  months 
later,  when  her  suspicions  as  to  the  cause  in 
which  he  had  dealt  the  blow  were  verilied. 
'•  I  was  certain  that  vile  wretch,  whose  im 
pudent  grin  I  shall  never  forget,  had  slan 
dered  the  sweet  angel,  and  you  had  knocked 
the  words  back  down  his  throat.  I  am  glad 
I  happened  to  see  how  cleverly  you  did  it !  " 

Now,  her  fast  returning  tears  blotted  out 
everything,  even  Captain  Dale's  face,  while 
lie  told  his  story. 

"  Mi's.  Dumaresque's  husband  was  an  offi 
cer  in  the  United  States  army,  and,  I  have 
heard,  a  remarkably  handsome,  accomplished, 
and  fascinating1  man.  She  loved  him  so 


-2f2     WITH  TUP:  VEST  IXTE 

passionately,  and  trusti-d  liiin  so  fully,  that 
his  elopement  with  the  wife  of  his  most 
intimate  friend  —  then  Captain  Thomas 
Kane  Scott —  now  Major  Thomas  Scott 
Kane  —  was  a  complete  surprise.  Shu  had 
been  married  lint  four  years.  She  came 
home  to  her  mother,  and  has  remained  witli 
her  evei'  since.  For  six  out  of  the  eight  years 
of  her  virtual  widowhood  she  lived  in  the 
strictest  seclusion.  At  Mrs.  Gillette's  re 
quest,  she  had  altered  the  pronunciation  of 
her  name  as  a  partial  screen  against  idle  and 
malicious  curiosity.  It  was  also  to  gratify 
her  mother  that  she  mingled  again,  l>y  de 
grees,  in  society.  Mrs.  Gillette  has  resided 
for  seven  years  in  New  York  Citv.  where  her 
daughter's  sad  historv  was  less  likely  to  In- 
known  than  in  a.  gossiping  college  town. 
Her  talents,  her  beaut v.  her  wonderful  mag 
netic  power,  have  been  used  for  others'  hap 
piness.  Her  successes  in  the  social  world 
are  as  nothing  compared  with  the  love  and 
admiration  she  inspires  among  the  suffering 
poor,  to  whom  is  given  most  of  the  time  she 
can  spare  from  her  mother. 

"Captain   Dumaresqne    resigned   his   com 
mission  to  save  himself  from  expulsion  from 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  283 

the  corps  he  had  disgraced.  When  Miss 
Gillette  married  him,  she  refused  to  have  her 
handsome  fortune  settled  upon  herself.  Upon 
this,  he  is  now  living  abroad  with  Mrs.  Scott. 
His  wife  has  been  urged  to  apply  for  a 
divorce,  but  she  will  not  listen  to  the  sug 
gestion.  She  holds  that  death  alone  can  dis 
solve  a  marriage.  She  goes  further,  and 
declares  that  nothing  but  death  can  absolve 
her  from  obligation  to  love  her  husband. 
She  told  Major  Kane  last  week  that  should 
Captain  Dumaresque  come  back  to  her  now, 
and  profess  penitence,  she  would  follow  him 
to  the  world's  end.  I  do  not  comment  upon 
this.  Hers  is,  perhaps,  an  exceptionally  con 
stant  nature,  as  well  as  exceptionally  strong. 
"  Major  Kane  came  to  Mackinac,  not  know 
ing  that  she  was  here.  He  recognized  her 
the  night  of  his  arrival,  but  left  the  Island 
next  morning,  without  speaking  to  her,  for 
a  week's  fishing  at  '  The  Snows.'  Their 
encounter  at  Fort  Holmes  was  accidental. 
She  covered  his  embarrassment  as  only  she 
can  relieve  the  awkwardness  of  a  false  posi 
tion.  He  sought  an  interview,  a  day  or  two 
later,  during  which  he  argued  the  expediency 
of  an  application  for  divorce  on  her  part,  that 


284       ir/77/    777 K    HE*T    I\Th\\TIO.\H: 

she  might  be  free  in  fact,  as  in  feeling,  and 
permit  Dumaresque  to  marry  Mrs.  Seott. 
Kane's  is  a  tender  heart,  but  liis  \vife's  faith 
lessness  has  sensibly  abated  his  love.  lie 
pities  her,  and  would  let  her  misconduct  be 
forgotten  bv  the  world.  While  the  partner 
of  her  flight  remains  legally  bound  to  another 
woman,  it  would  avail  nothing  toward  this 
end  were  Mrs.  Seott  to  be  divorced.  A  warm 
debate  took  place  between  Kane  and  Mrs. 
Dumaresque,  in  which  lie  failed  to  alter  her 
views.  Lest  her  mother  should  suspect  in 
whose  company  she  had  been,  and  the  matter 
of  their  talk,  she  made  haste,  after  parting1 
with  him.  to  change  her  dress  and  show  her 
self  in  the  drawing-room  as  usual. 

*%iThe  bravest,  best,  deepest-hearted  woman 
I  ever  knew  ! '  Kane  said  to  me,  in  telling  at 
length  what  I  have  condensed,  'lint  while 
her  husband  lives,  and  she  is  not  formally 
separated  from  him,  she  is  a  target  for  cruel 
shafts.  She  cannot  hide  forever  behind  an 
assumed  name.  Her  position  is  unnatural 
and  painful.  It  will  become  dangerous  some 
day.' 

"  I  recalled  the  remark  to-night,  when  I 
caught  a  few  words  spoken  by  a  knot  of 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  285 

waiters  as  I  passed  through  the  rotunda. 
They  prepared  me  for  the  behavior  of  those 
who  were  proud,  twenty-four  hours  ago,  to 
be  numbered  among  Mrs.  Dumaresque's  ac 
quaintances.  A  woman  stopped  me  on  the 
stairs  just  now  to  say  that  she  'had  seen 
Mrs.  Dale  in  the  hall,  in  company  with  that 
Mrs.  Dumaresque,  and  to  warn  me,  as  a 
friend,  that  she  was  a  horrid  impostor  and 
unscrupulous  adventuress.'  I  answered  her, 
but  all  of  us  combined  cannot  stay  the  tide 
of  scandal." 

"  I  have  known  Karen  Gillette  since  I  was 
sixteen  years  old  —  a  boy  in  the  grammar 
school,"  said  Emmett,  hoarsely.  "  My  own 
sister  is  not  dearer  to  me,  nor  my  wife's 
honor  more  sacred  than  hers.  Where  did 
you  pick  up  this  infernal  pack  of  lies  ?  " 

He  wheeled  savagely  upon  his  majestic 
mamma-in-law,  roused  out  of  all  semblance 
of  respect  by  what  he  had  heard,  and  by 
reminiscence. 

Gibraltar  was  dry  and  composed,  when 
everything  else  of  feminine  mould  in  the 
room  was  trembling  into  tears. 

"  The  woman  who  puts  herself  in  an  equiv 
ocal  position  should  be  ready  to  sustain  the 


i!80      wrru  TIH-:  HKST  INTENTIONS: 

consequences  <>f  her  misdemeanor.'"  she  enun 
ciated.  "Your  sisterly  intimate.  Mrs.  Dew/r 
ack,  cannot  hope  to  he  an  exception  to  every 
rule.  I  lad  the  appearance  of  evil  been  avoided 
l>v  her  and  her  mother,  we  should  have  been 
.-pared  the  verv  disagreeable  revelations  of 
this  evenin<_;-.  lietM'ets  are  useless.  The  onlv 
thing  left  for  us  to  do  is  to  drop  the  matter, 
for  the  present,  and  bid  Mrs.  Manlv  Lj'ood 
night.  She  has  had  altogether  too  much 
excitement  for  i >ne  si )  delicate." 

This  was  obvious.  Fan,  smelling-salts,  and 
a  stout  will  nad  scarce!-.,-  sufficed  to  maintain 
a  passable  degree  ot  composure  in  the  occu 
pant  of  the.  sofa.  At  this  direct  allusion  to 
her  health,  she  began  to  sob  and  giggle  in 
alternate  convulsions  of  strangulation. 

'"Hysterics!''  cried  practical  Mrs.  Wilkes, 
and  a  mandatory  flourish  of  her  hand  sent 
the  men  to  the  door. 

••She  xJion-,',1  us  out  like  a  llock  of  he-ens, 
be  .Ia\vve  !  "  liertie  reported  subsequently  to 
Mrs.  Dak-.  "I  made  the  fastest  time,  being 
a  li-i-_:'ht  weight,  but  noise  of  us  stood  upon 
the  order  of  our  goin^-.  We  went  at  o-onei;  — 
don't  vou  kin  i\v  ?  " 

The   agitated   patient  was  left  to  ether  ami 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  287 

to  Fanny,  —  the  latter  having  been  sought  far 
and  diligently  before  she  was  found  promenad 
ing  the  cliff,  in  company  with  the  jaunty 
mulatto,  —and  Gem,  white  and  sad,  was  mak 
ing  her  arrangements  to  sleep  on  the  sofa, 
when  Mrs.  Cameron  and  Clara  sought  the 
upper  story. 

At  her  own  door  the  daughter  wavered. 

u  Mamma ! "  she  whispered,  fearf  ulJy.  "  Em- 
mett  may  be  up  soon.  1  am  positively  afraid  to 
meet  him  !  What  ought  I  to  tell  him?  Can 
it  be  possible  that  we  are  mistaken,  after  all  ?  " 

"  Mistaken  !  "  Mrs.  Cameron  disdained 
concealment.  The  chest  baritone  rendered 
the  syllables  roundly.  *'  Only  in  supposing 
that  three  honest  women  could  outgeneral 
such  an  adept  in  deceit.  I  disbelieve  every 
word  of  that  tale.  Captain  Dale  did  not  dare 
repeat  it  in  his  wife's  hearing.  That  was 
\vhy  she  was  left  up  stairs.  The  Creature 
lias  them  all  in  her  toils.'' 

The  door  opened  abruptly  and  widely  from 
within.  Emmett  accosted  his  wife  in  the 
accent  of  a  master. 

"  I  am  waiting  for  you,  Clara !  Good  night, 
Mrs.  Cameron  ! " 

Gibraltar  heard  the  key  turn  in  the  lock, 


irm/    Tin:    /;/->T    T.\TEXTIO.\S  : 

and  pause;!,  almost  persuaded  liv  dignity  and 
maternal  devotion  to  knock  and  force  a  third 
into  their  counsels.  Prudence  prevailed:  Imt 
the  hatehet  Mniuiett  had  dut^  up  and  filing 
was  never  luiried. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE. 


CHAPTER   XXT. 

KMMKTT  set  a  chair  for  his  wife,  and  one 
for  himself  in  front  of  it.  His  face  was  rigid, 
and  Clara  noted  what  she  had  never  seen 
until  now,  —  that  his  lower  jaw  projected 
slightly  beyond  the  upper.  It  gave  him  an 
expression  of  fierce  resolve;  out  of  keeping 
with  her  preconceived  ideas  of  his  character. 
She  was  not  really  afraid  of  him,  although 
she  had  said  so  to  her  mother,  but  there 
was  a  sense  of  strangerliood  quite  as  oddly 
oppressive. 

"Xo\v,"  he  said,  magisterially  calm,  "I 
am  ready  to  hear  how  -my  wife  happened  to 
1)6  mixed  up  in  this  diabolically  dirty  affair. 
That  it  was  a  plan,  deliberately  laid,  and 
that  Mrs.  Manly 's  invitation  to  us  was  a  part 

J 

of  it,  is  apparent  to  all  of  us  \vlio  innocently 
helped  to  carry  it  out.  You  were  in  there 
with  those  two  women,  a  tacit  accomplice — - 
unless  you  can  protest,  as  Gem  did,  that  you 
were  not  taken  into  confidence.  Whose 


H777/     Till-:    7;/->T    7.Y77;.Y770.YS: 

brewing  was  the  devil's  broth?  And  why 
must  your  mot  her  undertake  to  stir  it?  " 

The  .lane  Cameron  spirit  asserted  itself  in 
the  listener.  Coarseness  was  insolence.  The 
resemblance  to  her  mother  was  appalling  as 
she  pushed  her  chair  a  foot  further  a\vav. 
and,  with  flattened  hack  and  level  chin,  lot  iked 
squarely  into  his  eve.s.  Her  tone  had  the 
sustained  litnltre  oi  the  Pride  of  Lisbon. 

k-  "\  on  are  choice  in  your  expressions. 
When  you  remember  that  YOU  are  a  geutle- 
n:an,  and  I  a  lady,  I  will  answer  YOU. 

"You  will  answer  me  now!"  His  chin 
was  more  prominent,  and  the  shallo\v  hard- 
n.'ss  of  his  voice'  more  perceptible.  Other 
wise  he  gave  no  si'^n  of  increasing  excite 
ment.  "The  whole  house  is  seething  and 
J'umiiiL,r  \\\\\\  this  detestable  sluiT;  and  1  will 
know  who  is  responsible  for  it.  As  sure  as 
I  am  an  honest  man,  who  is  pledged  by  every 
la\v  of  r'lLdit  and  honor  to  defend  a  slandered 
woman.  1  believe  vour  mother  set  the  devilish 
machinery  !_,roin<_r." 

••  Profanity  and  vulgarity  are  so  new  to 
me  that  I  may  be  excused  for  insisting  upon 
a  different  approach  to  the  subject, ''  main 
tained  Mrs.  Cameron's  pupil,  stonily. 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  291 

"  If  you  do  not  wish  to  provoke  real  pro 
fanity,  you  would  better  be  direct  and  truth 
ful.  As  to  vulgarity,  it  has  never  been  my 
ill-fortune  to  listen  to  grosser  indecency  than 
was  served  out  to  a  mixed  company  this 
evening  by  Mrs.  Cameron." 

Clara  was  an  upright  woman,  and  a  loyal 
child  to  the  Model  upon  which  she  had  fash 
ioned  herself.  Upon  this  exceedingly  broad 
hint  she  spake,  diction  and  manner  reflecting 
credit  upon  her  preceptress. 

Without  blenching,  —  even  gaining  spirit 
as  she  rehearsed  her  wrongs,  —  she  went  over, 
in  order,  the  proofs  of  Mrs.  Dumaresque's 
guilty  manoeuvres,  and  his  weakness,  to  her 
husband's  face,  from  the  first  exchange  of 
glances  between  balcony  and  piazza,  to  the 
present  hour,  when  he  stood  arrayed  as 
Karen's  sworn  champion  against  his  wife  and 
her  GoD-fearing  mother. 

She  told  the  oft-conned  story  well,  and  he 
heard  it  in  profound  silence.  Only  a  tran 
sient  gleam  in  the  eyes  fixed  upon  her  face, 
and  one  purple,  throbbing  vein  between  the 
brows,  revealed  emotion.  He  neither  hin 
dered  nor  helped  the  narration.  She  had 
fair  swing  and,  so  far  as  natural  indications 
went,  patient  audience. 


292     WITH   THI-:   7;/>T   I\TI-:.\TIO.\X  : 

When  she  ceased  to  speak,  he  Lj<»t  up, 
walked  once  slowly  across  the  room,  his  hand 
to  his  chin,  as  if  Imried  in  deep  thought. 
Returning,  he  stood  l>v  the  chinuiev,  looking 
euriouslv  down  at  her,  —  such  mixture  of 
sorrowful  incredulity,  ama/.ement.  and  stern 
displeasure  in  his  ga/.e  as  nerved  her  to  pre 
pare  for  an  outburst.  She  stirred  restlessly 
in  her  chair. 

"Well!"  in  her  mother's  best  tone.  ''Have 
you  any  explanation  to  offer?  A  stare,  how 
ever  expressive  and  long,  can  hardlv  be  ac 
cepted  as  rebutting  evidence." 

"And  this  is  nnj  //vVV.'"  lie  said  it  hol- 
lowlv,  as  in  a  dream.  "  This  is  my  wife  ! 
We  were  married  a  little  over  a  month  ago!" 

I  f e  turned  awav  abruptly,  jerked  open  the 
shutters,  and  stepped  out  upon  the  haleonv. 

The  band  was  playing  in  the  Casino,  some 
hundreds  of  feet  away,  but  Clara  could  dis 
tinguish  the  air:  — 

••()  fair  l),.\v  !     <)  fund  Dove! 
()  Dove  with  tin-  \vh!tc,  -whito  breast!' 

As    upon    the    night    of    the    thunder-storm, 

the  beat  of   feet    upon    the   floor,  the    hum    of 
voices,   the   ebb  and   flow   of   the,   niirht-wind. 


A  MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  293 

made  up  a  rhythmic  accompaniment  to  the 
old,  sad  tune. 

In  the  miserable,  mechanical  way  in  which 
the  mind  toys  with  trifles  in  supreme  moments, 
she  found  herself  recalling  the  words  in  follow 
ing  the  cornet  that  rendered  the  theme:  — 


••a 


"  My  love  he  stood  at  my  right  hand, 
His  eyes  were  grave  and  sweet." 

As  Emmett's  eyes  would  never  be  again  to  her! 

A  sob  strangled  her,  but  she  would  not  give 
it  vent.  She  had  done  no  wrong.  The 
Searcher  of  hearts  knew  the  righteousness 
of  her  cause  and  the  integrity  of  her  inten 
tions.  Her  husband,  and  not  she,  was  the 
one  who  should  sue  for  pardon. 

He  came  back  as  suddenly  as  he  had  gone 
out.  He  left  the  window  open,  and  the  music 
wailed  in  after  him. 

"I  will  take  your  indictments  in  order." 
Standing,  as  before,  by  the  hearth,  he  spoke 
sternly ;  his  eyes  were  pitiless. 

"  First :  Mrs.  Dumaresque  was  startled  at 
seeing  me  on  that  first  day.  We  had  not 
met  in  ten  years.  All  that  she  had  suffered 
in  that  time  surged  in  upon  her  in  the  sur 
prise  of  the  recognition.  Nor  did  she  wish 


i!'J4       WITH    THE    BEST    IXT 

that  T  should  refer  in  others'  hearing  to  lu-i 
unhappy  marriage,  or  ask  questions  as  to  her 
change  of  name. 

••  >St'('on<.l :  She  told  me  on  the  way  to  St. 
Tgnace  that  slie  was  separated  from  her  hus 
band;  that  lie  had  left  her  and  would  never 
return.  The  story  was  not  known  to  new 
acquaintances,  and  she  dreaded  discussion  of 
it  and  heartless  gossip.  But  she  asked  me 
to  tell  you  all  she  had  eoniided  to  me.  She 
said  you  looked  like  a  woman  whose  diseiv- 
tion  could  be  trusted.  I  thought  it  safer  not 
to  speak  of  the  sad  complication  for  awhile. 
If  questions  were  put  to  you.  you  had  nothing 
to  conceal,  nothing  to  embarrass  your  an 
swers.  As  to  the  disguise  of  name  and  the 
curtained  episode  in  her  life,  she  was  right. 
as  usual,  I  said.  Even  my  wife,  while  she 
was  a  model  of  discretion,  might  lind  it  diffi 
cult  to  parry  the  catechism  of  hotel  gossips, 
were  half  the  history,  and  not  all,  known. 
Some  dav,  when  you  and  she  had  become 
the  fast  friends  I  hoped  you  would  be,  she 
could  tell  you  her  story  in  her  own  way.  I 
believed  you  would  prefer  this. 

"  Third:  My  remark"  upon  her  wedding-ring 
and  her  reply  need  no  comment  after  what 


A    MIDSUMMER    EPISODE.  295 

Captain  Dale  has  said  of  Mrs.  Dumaresque's 
peculiar  views  on  the  subject  of  divorce. 

"  Fourth  :  As  to  the  many  admiring  glances 
I  have  bent  upon  her,  and  my  open  enjoyment 
of  her  society,  my  frequent  allusions  to  col 
lege  days  and  our  old  intimacy,  my  appeals 
to  her  for  legend  and  song  and  recitation, 
and  my  applause  of  the  same,  —  all  this  was 
as  frank  as  it  was  innocent.  To  her  I  am  a 
hoy  who  reminds  her  of  earlier  and  happier 
days.  That  is  my  only  claim  upon  her  regard. 
Nothing  could  make  this  clearer  to  the  mind 
of  either  of  us.  The  affection  I  have  for  her 
is  precisely  the  same  in  kind  that  I  feel  for 
Mrs.  Gillette. 

u  Fifth :  I  turned  deadly  pale  when  I  had 
made  her  horse  rear,  and  put  her  in  peril  of 
her  life.  What  man  would  not  —  even  had 
the  woman  endangered  by  his  carelessness 
been  his  maiden  aunt,  or  "  —  a  sardonic  smile 
distorting  his  handsome  face  —  "  his  mother- 
in-law  ? 

"  So  much  for  defence.  Now  for  recrimina 
tion.  Mrs.  Gillette  is  the  victim  of  a  disease 
that  must  end  fatally.  Any  shock  or  excite 
ment  may  make  this  end  imminent.  She  is 
extremely  ill  this  moment  —  so  ill  that  Mrs. 


wrnr  Tin-:  ju-:*r  I\TK.\TIO.\$  : 

Pale  and  Mrs.  Wilkes  will  not  leave  her  room 
to-night.  You,  —  and  your  mother. —  aided 
and  abetted  by  vour  sillv  cousin,  have  proha- 
blv  done  one  innocent  woman  to  her  death. 
You  have  certainlv  blasted  the  reputation 
of  another  as  innocent,  and  whose  sorrows 
should  have  wo;i  you  to  sympathy,  even  if 
none  of  you  are  capable  of  appreciating  her 
heroism,  her  filial  devotion,  and  the  blameless. 
beneficent  life  of  a  tnn>  Christian.  rl'he  mau- 
lle  of  pious  charity  would  seem  to  be  out  of 
fashion  in  your  church.'' 

The  gibe  stung  bitterly. 

••I'ntil  the  matter  was  mentioned  in  Mrs. 
Manly's  room  to-nii/lit.  not  one  of  us  three 
dropped  a  Avovd  derogatory  to  Mrs.  Duma- 
rcsijiu1,  in  the  hearing  of  a  fourth  person. 
Mamma  is  incapable  of  such  conduct  as  you 
impute  to  her  .  " 

Regardless  of  the  torrent  of  tears  that 
welled  up  with  the  denial,  he  bowed  ironi 
cally. 

"To  Mrs.  Cameron's  daughter,  I  can  onlv 
Fay.  in  reply,  that  hotel  talk  freelv  quotes  that 
worthy  lady  and  Mrs.  Manly  as  authority  for 
the  most  damaging  stories  atloat  concerning 
Mis.  1  )uniares,|ue.  and  gives  them  credit  foi 


A  Jums-rj/j/AYi1    Ki'isoDE.          29 


unmasking  a  cunning  conspiracy  against  the 
peace  ami  purity  of  fashionable  society! 
Unless  I  add  that  every  charge  brought  for 
ward"  by  Mrs.  Cameron  this  evening  Avas 
retailed  to  Bertie  Gates,  two  or  three  hours 
before  we  heard  it,  by  a  dissolute  fellow  of 
the  baser  sort,  and  Mrs.  Cameron  cited  as 
endorser.  Bertie  knocked  the  liar  down,  but 
I  shall  make  it  my  business  to  see  him  in  the 
morning,  and  repeat  the  lesson." 

UI  beg  you  will  not  !  "  holding  up  a  white. 
agonized  face.  "Ask  mamma  —  ask  Mrs. 
Manly  —  if  we  did  not  agree  that  nothing 
should  be  underhanded,  that  every  chance 
should  1)0  given  Mrs.  Dumaresque  for  self- 
defence  — 

—  "Consistent  witli  the  indulgence  of  a 
ladylike  taste  for  carrion!  I  do  not  doubt  it. 
Xor  the  rectitude  of  your  motives.  If  this 
end  has  been  brought  about  with  the  best 
intentions,  Heaven  save  me  from  becom 
ing  the  object  of  deliberate  wrong-doing! 
Don't  sit  up  for  me  !  I  am  going  out  for 
a  walk.  Probably  a  long  one.  I  could  not 
sleep." 

All  this  had  passed  so  quickly  that  Clara, 
hearkening  to  the  echoes  of  his  departing 

O  •*-  *- 


footsteps,  lost   tlicm  in  the  refrain   the  cornet 
was  still  playing  :  — 

"  O  fair  DMV,"  !      0  foii.l    Hove  ! 
O  Duvt!  with  t!u-  white,  \vhite  breast  !  " 

Tin;  house  was  still  :  the  wind  brought  to 
her  open  window  the  wasli  of  the  waves  on 
the  shingles,  when,  wearv  and  sick,  she  threw 
herself,  yet  in  her  evening  dress,  upon  her 
pillow,  still  listening  vaiidv  for  feet  that  came 
not  all  the  ni^ht. 

Kmmett  watched  out  the  dark  hours,  and 
saw  the  day  break  in  pearl  and  topaz  and 
rose-color,  Ivin^  prone  under  the  balsam  oov- 
ert  ii])on  the  led^e  where  lie  and  his  bride 
had  read  Ami''  "  for  thi'ee  beatific  hours  one 
golden,  lialmv  afternoon,"  in  the  second 
i[Uarter  of  their  honeymoon. 


A    MIUSVlOlElt    EPISOUE.  299 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

Mo  HE  wonderful  things  are  happening 
every  day  tlian  that  I  should  have  met  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Gates  upon  their  wedding  tour  last 
summer. 

Nor  was  it  extraordinary  that  they  took  in 
Mackinac  during  the  two  months'  trip  that 
extended  over  two-thirds  of  the  continent. 

The  strange  element  of  the  "  happening  " 
was  that  we  ran  full  against  one  another  at 

o 

the  base  of  Friendship's  Altar,  on  the  anni 
versary  of  the  famous  pedestrian  party  given 
in  Mrs.  Emmett  Morgan's  honor. 

'•  It  is  a  pilgrimage,"'  Gem  said,  her  tender 
blue  eyes  wistful  and  deep  with  memories. 
kk  We  planned  to  be  here  to-day." 

She  wore  a  piquant  sailor-hat,  and  a  tailor- 
made  gown  of  the  same  color  she  had  sported 
on  the  day  they  celebrated.  A  cluster  of 
maiden-hair  fern  was  in  her  hand.  Some 
sprays,  selected  from  this,  were  fastened  in 
the  side  of  Bertie's  cap. 


,°,no      \VITII   Tin-:   /;/•>/"  I.\TI-:.\TI<).\S: 

••  I  have  matches  and  tinder  in  inv  pocket 
for  ma-a-king  a  lire  in  Scott's  Ca-ave —  don't 
vou  know?"  observed  the  bridegroom. 

His  moustache  h;id  secured  a  local  habita- 
tinn,  if  not  a  name  :  his  cheeks  had  the 
contour  of  a  shapely  pear,  rather  than  the 
cherubic  round  that  used  to  suggest  an 
apple.  The  lithe  ligure,  ingenuous  eyes, 
;ind  boyish  laugh  were  unaltered;  but  his 
joyousness  had  a  fuller  ring  than  in  the  days 
of  irresponsible  bachelorhood.  Ills  behavior 
to  his  little  wife  was  the  prettiest,  thing  im 
aginable,  if  I  except  her  reception  of  his 
graceful  devoirs.  One  grew  more  hopeful 
of  the  world's  future  in  beholding  their  hap 
piness. 

As  we  looked  about  for  a  convenient  rest 
ing-place  in  the  shadow  of  th«-  great  rock. 
(Jem  quoted  from  the  legend  of  The  Six 
Friends  :  — 

•••They  sat  down  upon  fallen  trunks  and 
upon  mossy  stones,  and  talked  lonc^  and 
lovingly  of  what  each  had  felt  and  suffered, 
and.  above  all.  Jone  since  their  last  parting.' 
()n<-  of  the  loveliest  tiling.-'  ire  have  done  was 
to  spend  a  whole  fortnight  with  Her  at  New 
port  last  month." 


A    MIDSUMMER    Er 

They  told  me  all  about  it,  while  we  lin 
gered  there.  The  golden-green  light  shivered 
upon  Bertie's  bared  blond  head,  and  Hashed 
against  the  new  ring  upon  Gem's  hand.  A 
weak,  low  wind  moved  the  balsam-trees  to 
sigh  and  fragrance.  The  tale  of  the  bright 
young  creatures  who,  in  talking,  now  and 
then  touched  the  gray,  grim  Altar,  as  in 
caress,  was  a  duct  upon  a  theme  dear  to  us 
all. 

I  had  seen  a  notice  of  Mrs.  Gillette's  death 
at  her  home  in  New  York,  a  week  after  Mrs. 
Cameron's  visit  to  the  Island.  I  learned, 
now,  that  Bertie  and  Grace  Wilkes,  the 
latter  at  Karen's  urgent  invitation,  had  ac 
companied  them  to  the  city.  Bertie  gave  me 
an  account  of  the  evening  sail  from  Mackinac. 

"She  wouldn't  go  below,"  he  said,  "but 
had  her  invalid-chair  taken  on  deck.  Mrs. 
Dumaresque  was  on  one  side  of  her,  Grace 
Wilkes  on  the,  other,  yon  know.  Not  one  of 
us  spoke  until  the  chains  and  tiers  of  electric 
lights  that  meant  the  big  hotel  drew  closer 
and  closer  together,  as  we  sailed  a\v;iv,  and 
were  at  last  fused  into  one  monstrous  star, 
pulsating  like  a  fiery  heart,  don't  you  know? 
Then,  she  said  in  the  low,  sweet  voice  that 


:'<!:!     \VITII 


never  got  old  ;uul  thin,  you  kno\v  :  *  You 
called  her  once  "Pearl  and  Princess  of 
I.-dands."  daugliter.  She  is  a  glorious  rubv 
to-night.'  And,  partly  to  herself  —  'lieauti- 
f'ul  for  situation  !  A  bride  adorned  for  her 
husband!  You  said  that  evening  —  little 
flatterer!  —  that  I  ahvavs  had  the  right  words 
read\'.  None  but  the  old,  old  words  eonie. 
to  me  no\v  !  I  suppose  because  I  learned 
them  \vhen  1  was  young.'" 

The  next  chapter  of  the  tale  was  entiivlv 
new  to  me.  On  the  day  of  her  mother's 
funeral  Karen  received  news  of  her  husband's 
death  in  Si.  Petersburg,  of  small-pox.  The 
woman  \vhose  fair,  false  face  had  ruined  him 
deserted  him  when  the  character  of  the  dis 
ease  was  discovered.  He  died  in  a  hospital, 
and  was  hurried  into  the  earth  by  hireling 
hands.  Pv  a  will  made  a  year  before  his 
decease,  and  entrusted  to  the  American  con 
sul  at  Paris,  the  wreck  of  her  once  handsome 
fortune  was  bequeathed  to  his  wife. 

"  She  accepted  this  as  evidence  that  he 
would  have;  come  back  t;)  her  in  time,  had  he 
lived."  said  (  iem.  ••  Put  she  would  not  touch 
the  money.  She  settled  it  upon  (irace 
Wilkes.  You  know  she  was  married  — 


.1    MIDSUMMER   EPISODE.  303 

didn't  you  ?  She  was  staying  with  Karen  at 
Newport  when  she  met  her  fate.  '  How  does 
Karen  look?'  Lovelier  and  more  queenly 
than  ever  in  the  widow's  mourning1  she  will 

o 

never  lay  aside  — 

^Bertie  Grates!'' 

"  My  lo-ove  ?  " 

"  I  know  what  you  mean  when  you  tug 
your  moustache  with  the  left  hand !  You 
would  contradict  me  if  you  dared  !  " 

u  You  haven't  asked  after  Romeyn,'* 
drawled  the  unabashed  husband,  ostenta 
tiously  irrelevant.  "  My  wi-ife  may  consider 
the  discussion  of  that  one  of  her  particular 
favorites  a  sa-afer  topic — -don't  you  know? 
Hespeir:  his  summers  at  Newport,  too.  lie 
was  ve  attentive  to  us.  Came  to  see  us 
every  iv,  and  spent  next-to-every  evening 
with  -  .  For  the  sa-ake  of  Auld  Lang  Syne 

O          */ 

—  don  t  you  know?" 


Typography  by  J.  S.  dishing  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Presswork  by  Berwick  &  Smith,  Buston. 


A     000124884 


